PNP takes oath of non-partisanship for May polls

MANILA, Philippines – With only 13 days left before the national elections, members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) on Tuesday, April 26, vowed to remain apolitical, taking an oath of non-partisanship during the final pre-deployment conference ahead of the May 9 polls.

But the 4 police generals tagged in a supposed meeting with Liberal Party presidential candidate Manuel Roxas II were no-shows at the event.

PNP chief Director General Ricardo Marquez, however, explained that all regional directors had skipped the Tuesday pre-deployment conference due to a presentation of the Commission on Audit (COA).

“‘Yung mga regional director, may COA audit presentation, so lahat ng regional director, nandoon. Kaya walang regional director dito eh, they’re supposed to be here, pero nagkasabay-sabay,” he said.

(The regional directors are all there at the COA audit presentation. That’s why there are no regional directors here. They’re supposed to be here, but the two events coincided.)

But, he added, the 4 generals were “not exempted” from the oath of non-partisanship taken by those present at the PNP event.

Marquez earlier said the 4 active duty generals should be given the “benefit of the doubt” to explain their presence in the same Quezon City hotel where Roxas’ campaign staff were meeting earlier this month.

The 4 generals – intelligence chief Generoso Cerbo Jr, Cagayan Valley regional director Chief Superintendent Renier Ido, Western Visayas regional director Chief Superintendent Bernardo Diaz, and Calabarzon deputy regional director Chief Superintendent Ronaldo Santos – said that it was a “personal meeting,” according to Marquez. 

The PNP chief also said the investigation remains ongoing, and expressed confidence that it can be concluded before the elections.

Meanwhile, provincial directors, city directors, and chiefs of police of the National Capital Region Police Office met on Tuesday to firm up their security plans in preparation for the elections.

Marquez reminded them to remain impartial, and urged them to integrate their plans and efforts with other agencies deputized by the Commission on Elections.

“We have prepared long and hard to ensure that this national exercise will be held safely and securely, and to assure our countrymen that the sanctity of the ballot will be upheld,” he said.

“Let us remain steadily non-partisan…Our duty is to keep the peace during the entire election period,” he added. – Rappler.com