Cops can vote, but must remain apolitical on social media — Eleazar

FILE PNP chief Guillermo Eleazar. Screengrab from Facebook / PNP livestream

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine National Police chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar on Monday warned police personnel against sharing any political posts in their private or public social media accounts.

While they are not disallowed from casting their votes come election time, Eleazar said that police officers and officials must remain apolitical and non-partisan especially during the election season for the May 2022 polls — which means not campaigning for any candidate.

The police chief made the stern reminder as he also encouraged all PNP personnel to exercise their rights to suffrage, and avail of the Commission on Election (Comelec) extension of the voter registration period.

“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,” Eleazar said in a statement.

“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 added.

According to Eleazar, the ban on posting politically-motivated content or materials that support a candidate stretches up to a PNP personnel’s personal social media accounts, as covered by the existing PNP Memorandum Circular containing the Guidelines and Procedures on Social Media Content, Post and Engagement Utilizing Social Media Accounts and Individual Accounts of PNP Personnel.

Under the said memorandum circular, a police officer whose social media posts affect the PNP’s standing as an impartial and professional organization may be subjected to administrative sanctions.

“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,” Eleazar explained.

“Uulitin ko ang babala sa bawat pulis na huwag makisawsaw sa pulitika. Ang tanging dapat natin panigan ay ang bansa at ang taumbayan, hindi ang ilang personalidad, pulitiko o partido,” he added.

(I will repeat this warning again against police officers who meddle in politics.  Police officers should only side with is the Filipino people, and not personalities, politicians, or political parties.)

This is not the first time that Eleazar reminded police officers about being involved in political discussions.  Last October 3, the PNP chief said cops should not meddle into politics especially as a lot of candidates were filing their certificates of candidacy (COCs) before Comelec in the previous week.

He then made another reminder this October 5, reiterating that the ban on political activities goes beyond the COC filing and that police offices and camps must not bear the campaign materials of candidates.

In the past, police officers have found themselves in the hot seat for openly expressing support for a particular candidate. This happened to Senator Ronald dela Rosa in 2016, when he was sacked from his post as director of PNP’s Reactionary Standby Support Force (RSSF), due to alleged partisan political activity.

Dela Rosa, who was then a chief superintendent (brigadier general), was removed by former PNP chief Director General Ricardo Marquez after he defended and supported then-candidate President Rodrigo Duterte.

Dela Rosa and Duterte had close ties, as the former was once the city’s police chief.  Upon Duterte’s ascension to the presidency, he named Dela Rosa as his first PNP chief.

EDV