The Davao City Police Office (DCPO) said no political color was attached to its order for some 55 plain-clothes police officers to add a touch of red to their clothing while securing Saturday’s Alyansa ng Bagong Pilipinas political rally in the city led by President Marcos.
The issue caught public attention after an internal memorandum instructing the police officers to wear clothes in the administration party’s color motif circulated online.
In a statement, Davao City police chief Colonel Hansel Marantan assured the DCPO remains apolitical, dismissing allegations that there was a deeper meaning to the order to wear red.
“We emphasize that this deployment is a standard security measure aimed solely at ensuring the security and safety of the President, the event venue, and the public. DCPO upholds its duty to protect all citizens, regardless of political affiliations, and remains neutral and professional in all its operations,” he said.
Marantan also noted that the internal memorandum to plainclothes detectives was leaked, and its posting online was unauthorized.
The city police chief explained that the deployment of police personnel in civilian attire complied with a request from the Police Regional Office 11 (PRO 11) for the deployment of 55 police officers to augment the Presidential Security Command (PSC) during the Alyana Senate slate rally.
Marantan also called on the public to “refrain from spreading misinformation or speculation regarding this matter.”
“[The] DCPO remains an apolitical and non-partisan organization committed solely to ensuring public safety and security,” he added.
However, Senator Ronald Dela Rosa said that the choice of police officers’ attire during the rally should be investigated further.
“It has to be investigated because you know… it would be hard if policemen will take part in politics. The police should be apolitical,” he said in a mixture of Filipino and English on Sunday.
“If we look at it, the police wearing red shirts could be seen as a political move,” the lawmaker added.