AFP asks politicians: Stay away from camps

LUCENA CITY—Military officials here have asked politicians and their supporters to respect their camps by avoiding campaign activities that may put the Armed Forces of the Philippines in a bind.

“We hope that they respect this by not putting the AFP in a position where we can be perceived as partisan,” said Maj. Angelo Guzman, spokesperson of the AFP’s Southern Luzon Command (Solcom).

Candidates know the military’s position during the election season, Guzman said. “And that is for the AFP to remain nonpartisan, protectors of our freedom, as sentinels for a free, honest and peaceful election.”

Solcom headquarters at Camp Nakar in Barangay Gulang-Gulang here is also home to the Quezon provincial police.

Guzman also urged soldiers and Solcom’s civilian employees to avoid wearing politically partisan shirts or vests, ballers, caps and other campaign trinkets in and out of military camps.

The duty of every AFP member “is to vote, guard the process, and secure the sanctity of the ballot,” he said.

“We have a big role to achieve this and they (candidates), too, have a big role. So we encourage that we all respect and work together to attain this vision,” he added.

Any candidate who enters their camp is treated as a visitor, said Brig. Gen. Erick Parayno, commander of the Army’s 201st Infantry Brigade based in Calauag town. “The camp is open to all [people]. But they cannot conduct election campaign activities here,” he said by telephone.

Parayno said candidates visiting the camp would often ask for information on the security situation in their respective areas. “But we cannot provide them with security [aides] or bodyguards. We are not allowed to do that,” he said.

In an earlier interview, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Visaya, Solcom commander, said the military might provide security to candidates during the campaign period to prevent harassment from New People’s Army (NPA) rebels.

“Inform us of your election campaign plan and tell us where you are going ahead of time so Solcom can arrange security in the area,” Visaya said in a message to politicians.

NPA units operating in parts of Southern Tagalog and Bicol regions are major threats to the conduct of peaceful elections this year, he said. “But we’re also not discounting the capability of the private armed groups [to create trouble],” he said. Delfin T. Mallari Jr., Inquirer Southern Luzon