Gov’n to comply on tokhang record submission, needs security checks

FILE: Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevara (Photo: Philippine Information Agency Cordillera/Facebook)

The Duterte administration said that it will comply with the Supreme Court’s (SC) order to release records of its campaign against illegal drugs, as long as security concerns are checked.

“The Office of the Solicitor General (SolGen) has argued that there are certain security concerns that need to be addressed in connection with this matter but since the Supreme Court, itself has made the final order for the production of the order by the law enforcement agencies of the government. I guess we have no other alternative except to comply, subject probably to certain security checks or requirements,” Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Menardo Guevara said in a Palace briefing on April 4, Wednesday.

“If that’s the final order of the Supreme Court, all agencies of the government bound by that order are supposed to comply and follow,” he added.

The Palace official also stressed there is no issue in releasing the records sought by the SC as the government is not hiding anything.

“Wala naman kaming nakikitang potential effect dahil wala naman tinatago ang law enforcement agencies dito sa mga dokumentong ito (We do not see any potential effect as the law enforcement agencies are not hiding anything in these documents) except for the security of possible witnesses and so forth and so on,” Guevara further said.

As the SC junked Solgen Jose Calida’s motion for reconsideration on April 3, Tuesday, the High Court also ordered the administration to release its records on Oplan Tokhang that became controversial for the killings related to its drug operations.

(Read: Gov’t ordered to yield records on drug killings)

Oplan Tokhang or the lower barrel approach of PNP’s (Philippine National Police) Oplan Double Barrel is the knock and plead drug operation of the police. Tokhang came from the Cebuano words “Toktok-hangyo” meaning “knock and plead.” The operations involved policemen knocking on drug suspects’ homes, encouraging them to surrender to authorities.

This police operation became controversial for the alleged killings of those who resisted arrest (or nanlaban).