MANILA, Philippines — Hale them to court.
Politicians accusing policemen of working for their rivals during the elections should file formal complaints, instead of bringing their allegations in the media, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Tuesday.
“We will definitely look into reports that our personnel were engaged in partisan politics and ensure that they will be held responsible if they were guilty of wrongdoing,” the PNP spokesperson, Chief Superintendent Generoso Cerbo Jr., told reporters at Camp Crame.
But he stressed that allegations that some policemen had allowed themselves to be used by local candidates to harass their opponents should be substantiated.
He noted that some PNP personnel had been “unfairly accused” by losing candidates of electioneering “only because they were not satisfied” with the results of the elections.
“We will go after policemen allegedly involved in electioneering activities. But we will defend those who are only doing their job and unfairly accused,” Cerbo said.
“It’s better if they (politicians) file formal complaints against our personnel so they can also help us strengthen the evidence and get rid of misfits from our ranks,” he added.
On Monday, PNP personnel in Cavite arrested six confidential agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in front of the house of Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. in Bacoor City for violating the gun ban.
An emotional Revilla later appeared in a press conference and admitted that he sought the help of the NBI because the local police had been harassing his family.
Revilla’s son, actor Jolo Revilla, is running for vice governor of Cavite against Jay Lacson, son of Sen. Panfilo Lacson.
Similar reports of police harassment were reported by local candidates in the provinces of Leyte and Iloilo.
Cerbo said PNP Director General Alan Purisima had ordered the reshuffle of policemen whose relatives were vying for local posts and those who had been in their posts for more than two years.
Policemen identified with local candidates had also been transferred to other units, he added.
“The PNP implemented the strict order of our PNP chief to relieve policemen who were close to some politicians to maintain the integrity of our organization,” he said.
Since January, Purisima has ordered the reassignment of 1,413 policemen as part of the PNP’s preparations for last Monday’s balloting.
Of this number, 69 were policemen with “close affiliations to candidates” while 957 were PNP personnel whose relatives were running for local positions.
“Being in the frontline, it’s understandable why policemen are always accused of being biased by contending parties. Despite these allegations, we will continue to carry out our election duties to protect the integrity of the elections,” he said.