Bato: Oplan Tokhang Imperfect But Not Wrong

'It was not wrong but it was imperfect.'

This is what former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief and now senatorial candidate Ronald 'Bato' dela Rosa said Tuesday as he stood by the Duterte administration's anti-drug program 'Oplan Tokhang.'

He was asked in a televised interview whether the approach of Tokhang was wrong amid the thousands of deaths that resulted from the government's war on drugs.

The former police chief said Tokhang was imperfect because there were policemen involved in illegal drugs.

'Imperfect in the sense na 'yung ating kapulisan ay involved pa rin sa kalokohan. Hindi ko sinasabi na marami silang involved, kakaunti lang ito,' Dela Rosa said in an interview over ABS CBN News Channel.

Dela Rosa admitted visiting Archbishop Rolando Tria Tirona of the Archdiocese of Caceres to ask for forgiveness for the deaths that happened under the government's war on drugs.

The PNP said 5,176 had been killed in the war on drugs.

The drug suspects, whom police claim violently resisted arrest, were killed in the course of 119,841 anti-drug operations, while 170,689 drug personalities had been arrested from July 2016 to January 31...