Army commander Lt. Gen. Andres Centino assured the public that all military officers and enlisted personnel will remain non-partisan in next year’s elections.
“We have always been a professional organization and we abide by that. And I suppose in the coming elections, we will again be called together with the Philippine National Police as part of the main organization tapped by the Comelec,” he said in an interview with CNN Philippines over the weekend.
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana earlier reminded troops to remain neutral and non-partisan ahead of the May 2022 elections.
The Omnibus Election Code prohibits soldiers from engaging in any partisan political activity, including campaigning for a certain candidate.
Earlier, Philippine National Police chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar also reminded police officers in active duty to remain apolitical even in their social media posts and to refrain from campaigning for or against any political aspirant.
“While I am encouraging all police personnel to exercise their right to suffrage as citizens, they must remain apolitical in carrying out their mandate as members of the PNP,” he said in a video message.
Eleazar also cautioned policemen from expressing their political leanings on social media as such would go against the organization’s non-partisan stance in politics.
“I am reminding all police personnel to be mindful of what they post on their social networking accounts and refrain from showing support for or campaigning against local or national political aspirants,” he said.
“These may be personal accounts maintained by PNP personnel but anything posted in them would ultimately reflect on the organization and put to question our apolitical stance.”
