THE Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC)-CAR has disowned the controversial resolution of the Cordillera Regional Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee which planned to employ the notorious knock-and-talk (Tokhang) operations on selected left-leaning media, government workers, and personalities in the Cordillera.
Baguio Mayor Benjamin Magalong, RPOC chair, said that the resolution is fundamentally wrong as the Tokhang “process flow” was only lifted from the anti-narcotics manual of the Philippine National Police.
Magalong said that the RLECC members themselves admitted that the Tokhang operations used for the government’s war against drugs was itself problematic.
The Cordillera RPOC also said that RLECC should avoid using “left-leaning” when it amends Resolution No. 4.
The RLECC asked RPOC to adopt the resolution “for concurrence and adoption.”
Had the resolution been adopted, it would task Cordillera police officers to visit left-leaning Cordillera personalities and convince them to change their ways.
Outgoing ProCor chief BGen R’Win Pagkalinawan said that he has a list of 300 left-leaning media workers, civil society members and government employees in the region. He, however, refused to divulge the names on the list.
Youth Act Now Against Tyranny Baguio-Benguet, in a press statement, “sends its warmest gratitude to all individuals, groups and organizations for the wide and public support in calling for the immediate junking of the resolution.”
“Through wide and intense public condemnation, we made it known to our leaders that the people shall never back down against tyranny,” it said.
“Notwithstanding, RLECC-CAR Resolutions 1 and 2, both pertaining to restricting tagged “communist front organizations” are still in place,” it added.
