Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), reminded on Monday, Oct. 11, all police personnel to refrain from campaigning for or against any political aspirant using their social media accounts.
As a law enforcement agency that would be tapped for election duties, Eleazar said each and every PNP personnel should uphold the apolitical stand of the organization.
“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," said Eleazar.
One of them, according to Eleazar, is expressing their political leanings on social media as such would go against the organization’s non-partisan stance in politics.
“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,” said Eleazar.
“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,” he explained.
He reminded police personnel of 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.
The PNP Memorandum Circular contains a prohibition on social media posts that would be inimical to the interest of the PNP as an organization and prescribes administrative sanctions on violators of the ban.