Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Sec. Eduardo Año assured the public that they are not favoring any candidate or political party.
He issued the statement to allay fears that the law enforcers particularly the PNP will favor the political candidates and parties aligned with the President and his supporters.
Año also noted “Isa lang palagi sinasabi niya (Duterte) (The President has always mentioned this), I want to have a peaceful, clean, orderly, election, honest election.’’
He stressed that the President has stated that those voted by the people should win in the May 9, 2022 national and local elections.
"My order to the PNP, BJMP (Bureau of Jail Management and Penology), Bureau of Fire is the same, we must have a clean, honest, orderly, peaceful election. We will not be partisan, we will ensure that the people are able to cast their vote and we will protect the sanctity of the ballot,’’ he added.
Earlier, Año emphasized that the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is not providing a security detail for vice presidential candidate and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio while on the campaign trail.
The DILG chief made this clear to brush off the misconception that President Duterte has specifically ordered a security unit for his daughter.
“For your alluding that somebody higher up will tell the uniformed troops to give favor to this or to that or provide assistance to this, if you are referring to the President or somebody in Malacañang, I will say to you frankly, there is no such order. The President has said over and over that he is not going to endorse any presidential candidate," Año said in an earlier briefing. (Chito A. Chavez)