De Lima: ‘Tokhang mindset’ showed in QC triple slays

MANILA, Philippines — It was only right to disband the Quezon City government’s Task Force Disiplina following the death of three teenagers in the hands of one of the enforcers, Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima said on Friday.

De Lima said positions of power or authority in such organizations should not be given to someone still having what she called a “Tokhang mindset.”

It was in reference to “Oplan Tokhang,’’ the controversial antidrug campaign of then President Rodrigo Duterte.

‘Tokhang’ critic

On paper, the campaign was intended to encourage known drug users in a community to come forward and sign up for rehabilitation. But soon, Tokhang became the notorious buzz word for questionable police operations that resulted in thousands of drug suspects being killed in the slums allegedly because they resisted arrest (“nanlaban”).

READ: De Lima backs QC task force axing: No authority for ‘utak-Tokhang’

Then serving as a senator, De Lima strongly criticized Tokhang—and soon became the target herself of government charges linking her to drug trafficking, using convicted drug lords as “witnesses.” She was arrested and jailed for almost seven years, before being cleared in court of the three charges.

“We cannot give disciplinary authority to people lacking discipline themselves, to those who are trigger-happy or have a Tokhang mindset, who don’t give value to life and human rights,’’ De Lima said in a statement on Friday.

READ: PNP chief Torre says ‘Oplan Tokhang’ was flawed

“Killing should never be a means of imposing discipline on people,” she added.

Three teenagers aged 15, 18 and 19 were killed on Oct. 12 allegedly by a member of the Task Force Disiplina, a unit created by the Quezon City government mainly to enforce the local curfew.

Victims cornered

According to the police, a 38-year-old task force member named Vin shot and killed the three victims around 2 a.m. that Monday at the corner of Senatorial Street and Batasan-San Mateo Road in Barangay Batasan Hills.

Police Lt. Col. Gemmer Tubiera, commander of the Batasan police station, said Vin was drunk when he came across the teenagers still loitering outdoors in violation of the curfew.

Teenagers reportedly replied in a disrespectful manner when Vin reprimanded them, causing the suspect to lose his cool. The teenagers ran away but the suspect, pulling out an improvised handgun, gave chase and shot them.

Tubierra said the three victims were cornered by the suspect. One was shot in different parts of their body, another was shot in the head, while the third was hit in chest.

Vin, who was later arrested by the police, told reporters that had no regrets over what he did, calling his three victims “Mga salot sila sa lipunan! (menace to society).”

Check for other abuses

The city government later announced the disbandment of Task Force Disiplina, and also clarified that its members had not been issued firearms.

“We laud Mayor Joy Belmonte for her swift action on this matter. We call for a thorough investigation into this brutal incident and a deeper probe into other reported cases of violence and abuse involving the now-dismantled Task Force Disiplina,” de Lima said.

“We sympathize with the victims’ bereaved families and loved ones. We will monitor this case until justice is served,’’ she added.