Public servants must be apolitical, keep off Duterte issues – Palace

File photo by Jam Sta. Rosa | Agence France-Presse

MANILA, Philippines — Public servants should be apolitical and not be dragged into issues hounding the Dutertes, a Palace official said.

At a briefing on Tuesday, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro agreed with Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero’s statement that the Armed Forces of the Philippines should remain non-partisan, as he appealed to Vice President Sara Duterte to stop trying to win over the military to take their side.

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“The public servant should be apolitical. They should not be dragged over these personal issues, especially those of the Dutertes. Tama po si SP Chiz Escudero, hindi po natin dapat kalampagin, laging tawagin ang militar, ang mga kapulisan para lamang pagbigyan ang kahilingan ng isang partikular na tao o isang partikular na pamilya,” Castro said.

“The public servant should be apolitical. They should not be dragged into these personal issues, especially those of the Dutertes. SP [Senate President] Chiz Escudero is right: We should not keep calling on the military and the police to accommodate the requests of a particular person or a specific family,” Castro said in Filipino.

“The military, our troops, and our police force are for the nation, not just for the Duterte family,” she added.

Former President Rodrigo Duterte is currently in The Hague, Netherlands, for his impending trial before the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity allegedly committed during his administration’s drug war.

His administration’s drug war claimed at least 6,000 lives, according to official government data.

Human rights watchdogs, however, estimated the death toll from the drug war to be between 12,000 and 30,000 from 2016 to 2019.

Vice President Duterte, who is also in The Hague, slammed the AFP for allegedly allowing the arrest of her father.