The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Saturday, March 12, asked the civilian population to stop alluding the military to any political activity as the organization remains to be non-partisan ahead of the May 9 elections.
“The Armed Forces of the Philippines would like to appeal to various groups and individuals alike to refrain from alluding the military organization to any political agenda,” Col. Ramon Zagala, AFP spokesperson, said in a statement.
Zagala also reminded all military personnel to shun any partisan political activities lest they want to be accused of being biased towards or against a political candidate.
“The AFP leadership is firm in reminding its members to not engage in any partisan political activities prior, during, and after the election period,” Zagala noted.
The AFP has been accused of harassing supporters of certain political candidates amid the campaign period.
Last Friday, a supporter of Vice President Leni Robredo claimed that he was harassed by military officers at the Basilio Fernando Air Base in Lipa City, Batangas after he entered its golf course on a pink car and shirt.
Robredo is running for president and uses pink as her campaign color.
According to the “kakampink,” the term reffering to Robredo’s supporters, he was told to leave the golf course by at least three military officers allegedly because of the color of his vehicle and shirt.
It was not the first time that such incident happened. Last month, another supporter of Robredo claimed of being driven away by military officers at Camp Aguinaldo Golf Course because he, too, entered the facility while driving a car laced with pink ribbons.
This put the AFP in a bad light, prompting Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to issue new guidelines.
As a result of the incident, Lorenzana ordered camp commanders nationwide to allow private citizens to access military facilities regardless of their political affiliations.
“If your car has a ribbon representing the color of a candidate or a sticker of a candidate that you support, and you come inside any camp without violating regulations, that’s fine,” Lorenzana had said.
“We have no business whatsoever what people put in their cars or what to wear for as long as they do not violate camp regulations,” the Defense chief added.
The AFP, on the other hand, insisted that it will remain non-partisan all throughout the campaign period and even after the elections.
“The AFP remains a non-partisan organization that heeds only its mandate to protect the people and the State,” Zagala stressed.