ILOILO City – Police officers should not be involved in the removal of illegally placed campaign materials which are the subject of Oplan Baklas of the Commission on Elections (Comelec), according to the Philippine National Police (PNP).
“Para indi mahatagan kolor kay kita nga mga pulis dapat neutral,” said Police Lieutenant Colonel Arnel Solis, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office 6 (PRO-6).
The PNP’s participation in Oplan Baklas is limited to just maintaining peace and order and providing security to Comelec personnel tasked to remove illegal campaign materials. Cops themselves are not allowed to remove them.
So far, according to Solis, no complaints have reached the PRO-6 about policemen actively removing campaign materials of candidates running in the May 9, 2022 elections.
The PRO-6 made clear the cops’ role in Oplan Baklas amid viral photos and videos of police officers taking down campaign materials of Vice President Leni Robredo in Echague and Santiago City, Isabela province last week.
The matter has reached Camp Crame, the national headquarters of the PNP, and is now under investigation, according to Colonel Jean Fajardo, PNP spokesperson.
“Sa actual na pagtatanggal at pagbabaklas (ng campaign materials), malinaw po ang tagubilin sa atin na dapat ang PNP po ay limited lamang sa pagbibigay ng security assistance sa miyembro ng task force,” stressed Fajardo.
She added: “Pagpapaliwanagin po ang kanilang immediate supervisors.”
PNP personnel found to have violated the existing protocol on the matter will be reprimanded, if not penalized for their actions, said Fajardo.
For his part, Solis reminded PRO-6 policemen to remain politically neutral. The PRO-6 recently transferred 136 police officers to new assignments for having relatives running for local posts.
These 136 were all Police Non-Commissioned Officers (PNCOs) – 24 from Aklan, 23 from Capiz, 20 from Antique, six from Guimaras, 36 from Iloilo province, and 27 from Negros Occidental.
PRO-6 director, Police Brigadier General Flynn Dongbo said the transfers would prevent police personnel from influencing the outcome of the elections in favor of their relatives.
“We want to make sure our police personnel remain non-partisan,” Dongbo explained.
Meanwhile, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary Eduardo Año defended the removal of supposed illegal campaign posters on private properties despite protests from candidates and their supporters.
He pointed out that the affected parties are first informed by the Comelec of the alleged violation before the campaign posters are confiscated.
“There is also a warning. Before the removal, the Comelec notifies the personalities in the poster for them to remove within three days,” Año said.
If the concerned parties do not take appropriate action, the DILG chief said this is the time the Comelec and law enforcers will step in.
Año urged candidates and their supporters to just follow the campaign guidelines set by the Comelec.
He also insisted that the Omnibus Election Code takes precedence that should be observed by the political bets, their supporters, and the electorate./PN
