CALACA, Batangas—Vice Presidential candidate Francis Escudero said Friday his party plans to file charges against the four police generals who were spotted meeting with the campaign managers of Liberal Party standard bearer Manuel Roxas II in a hotel in Quezon City.
He said that should stop. They thought they could do everything since they belonged to the administration, Escudero said in an ambush interview.
“We have long been hearing that active and retired generals are playing a role in the campaign,” he said.
“PNP chief [Ricardo] Marquez said if there’s a complaint, he would immediately relieve [them] like what he did to the chief of police in Abra.
“I hope PNP Chief Marquez will be true to his word and relieve the generals if there is a complaint.”
Escudero said it was “not proper and highly irregular” for the police officials to meet with the LP campaign officers, especially since active police personnel were barred from participating, directly or indirectly, in partisan politics or electioneering.
He said his Partido Galing at Puso would file a formal complaint against the police officials before Marquez’s office.
Escudero’s presidential candidate Grace Poe said she was thankful that charges would be filed against the generals involved.
“They should be protecting the public on the day of the election and during the campaign period,” Poe said. Macon Ramos-Araneta
“They should not be hanging posters for a particular candidate or campaigning.”
Roxas claims that his staff met with the PNP officials by chance and merely talked with them since they had previously worked together at Interior Department.
But Escudero said no one would believe the meeting was not related to the coming elections.
“Sino ba naman ang makikipagpulong sa staff ng isang kumakandidato sa mga dating under nya? Sa katunayan, sa maraming lugar na pinuntahan namin, panay ang tawag niya sa mga regional director, provincial director,” Escudero said.
Akala n’ya [Roxas] siya pa rin ang DILG secretary.”
