MANILA, Philippines – Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police General Guillermo Eleazar on Monday warned police personnel against engaging in any form of partisan politics amid the period of the filing of certificate of candidacy for the 2022 national and local elections.
In a statement, Eleazar stressed the PNP’s apolitical stand to discourage any of its personnel from throwing support to any political candidate.
“I am warning all our personnel not to meddle into political activities or do things that can be misconstrued as expression of support to any candidate. Mananagot sa akin ang sinumang makikisawsaw sa pulitika sa aming hanay,” he said.
“The loyalty of the more than 222,000-strong PNP is to the Constitution and to the Filipino people and not to any political candidate,” he added.
The PNP chief said he has ordered for the monitoring of all police personnel and to list down all those who have relatives that are participating in the upcoming elections.
Eleazar said police officers who have family members planning to engage in local politics will be temporarily reassigned to another area.
“This is to ensure that any of our personnel would not be given the opportunity to intervene and likewise prevent speculations and allegations in the future that the PNP is engaging in partisan politics, especially at the local level,” he said.
Meanwhile, Eleazar said that the first few days of the filing of COCs nationwide were generally peaceful and orderly.
“The filing of the Certificate of Candidacy remains peaceful and orderly across the country but we are not lowering our guard on the possibility of any eventuality especially during the last day of the filing,” he said.
The PNP chief earlier ordered an aggressive campaign against loose firearms and Private Armed Groups (PAGs) as part of the early election security preparations to ensure the peaceful, honest and orderly conduct of the national and local elections next year.
The post Eleazar warns cops against engaging in partisan politics appeared first on UNTV News.
