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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Soldiers told: Remain non-partisan for upcoming elections

Soldiers told: Remain non-partisan for upcoming elections

Published Oct 9, 2024 05:51 am
AFP AIR FORCE ARMY.jpg
(File photo: Armed Forces of the Philippines)

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) directed all military personnel on Wednesday, Oct. 9, to remain non-partisan and apolitical as they fulfill their duties for the midterm elections next year.

Col. Louie Dema-ala, spokesperson of the Philippine Army (PA), assured the public of its commitment to protect the sanctity of the electoral process.

“We also remind all our personnel to remain non-partisan in strict adherence to our constitutional mandate. The Philippine Army will maintain the highest standards of professionalism, discipline, and integrity as it looks forward to safe, orderly, and peaceful elections in 2025,” Dema-ala said.

The reminder has been extended to personnel of the Philippine Air Force (PAF), Philippine Navy (PN), Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) and other military units.

Under Article XVI, Section 5 (3) of the Philippine Constitution, the armed forces “shall be insulated from partisan politics.”

“No member of the military shall engage directly or indirectly in any partisan political activity, except to vote,” it noted.

The AFP is supporting the Philippine National Police (PNP) in providing security for all election-related activities leading to the midterm polls in May 2025.

“We’re in full swing in terms of our commitment to augment security preparations by law enforcement agencies. So tinututukan ‘to ng mabuti (So we really are focused on this). We accept that we will really be facing different challenges,” AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said.

“Pati po ‘yung sa BARMM elections na coming (Even with the coming BARMM [Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao] elections), we are also giving great emphasis on security preparations for that,” she added.

The AFP said it has already identified several areas that are considered as election “hotspots” due to previous records of poll-related violence.

According to the AFP, intelligence operatives have been conducting operations to gather reports and ensure that these hotspots will be tightly guarded ahead of the elections.

“One thing I can tell is that our intelligence operatives are doing their jobs. But as to how we would be implementing our operations, that would be an operational matter that we cannot divulge,” Padilla said.

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