MANILA – Philippine Army (PA) commander Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr. warned the soldiers to refrain from commenting on any political posts on social media to prevent accusations of getting involved in partisan politics.
“Avoid posting, liking, sharing, and commenting on posts that are politically motivated, controversial, and fraudulent,” he said in a statement Monday night.
PA troops were also reminded by Brawner about their two solemn duties — to vote and ensure orderly elections.
“Let me remind you of our two solemn duties in the coming elections: vote and ensure peaceful and orderly elections. We will not tolerate partisan politics and military adventurism,” he added.
In Camp Crame, Quezon City, Brawner, along with other major service commanders from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Philippine Coast Guard, witnessed the signing of the Joint Letter Directive (JLD) No. 01-2022, which aims to ensure the safe and orderly conduct of the upcoming elections.
Earlier, the PA chief reminded Army units to dismantle private armed groups as part of the service’s efforts to ensure the safe and orderly conduct of elections.
According to Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año, police officers and barangay officials will be deployed to oversee candidates’ compliance with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) guidelines on election activities.
This comes after the campaign period for national candidates officially kicked off on Tuesday while the campaign for local candidates will begin on March 25.
“We will make sure that there will be (the) necessary deployment of security personnel, including the barangay tanods, to ensure they will follow the health protocols,” he added.
Comelec Resolution 10732, which was adopted in November of last year, establishes rules and regulations for the poll campaign under the new normal caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Based on the resolution, in-person campaigning is permitted in areas under Alert 1, 2, and 3 but candidates or their campaign leaders must be accompanied only by a maximum of five staff members under Alert Level 2 and three staff members under Alert Level 3.
Under Alert Level 1, there is no limit on the number of accompanying staff members for candidates.
For areas under Alert Levels 4 and 5, in-person campaigning is not allowed.
The Comelec has also prohibited handshakes, hugs, kisses, going arm-in-arm, or any action that involves physical contact among the candidate, their companions, and the public under all alert levels.
It has also forbidden the taking of selfies, photographs, and other similar activities that necessitate close proximity between the candidate and their companions, as well as the general public. It is also restricted to distribute food, drink, or anything of value.
According to the DILG chief, candidates who violate Comelec guidelines will be held liable for violating the Omnibus Election Code and may face up to six years of imprisonment without right to probation, disqualification from holding any public office, and denial of the right to vote.
This is on top of health protocol violations, which are punishable by one to six months in prison and fines ranging from PHP20,000 to PHP50,000.
Comelec may relax the guidelines, according to Año, if the vaccination rate in the country further improves.
