'Hayaan n'yo na sila': Nartatez tells cops to stay apolitical, focus on mandate amid Senate leadership row
Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez, Jr., chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), reminded all police personnel to stay apolitical and focus on their mandate of maintaining peace and order and ensuring public safety amid rising political tensions in the country.
Nartatez issued the statement particularly to policemen engaged in creating social media content as he emphasized that uniformed and non-uniformed personnel must remain neutral in the middle of political discussions.
“We have no business involving ourselves in politics. We do not have that privilege, that is not part of our mandate. Let us focus on what we are trained for and what the Filipino people expect us to do: enforce the law and maintain peace and order,” said Nartatez.
Social media are now flooded with political commentaries, most of the vloggers and content creators are taking sides on the ongoing political issue.
While airing one’s belief and opinion must be respected, Nartatez emphasized that uniformed personnel, including policemen, do not enjoy such liberty since the organization they represent will always be dragged into the issue.
Nartatez also reminded the public to be both wary and responsible of the information they would come across with on social media.
The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) earlier warned the public, particularly social media users, against the spread of misinformation, disinformation and unverified content that could mislead the public, intensify tensions, or contribute to the confusing during this period of heightened political conflicts.
On the part of the PNP, Nartatez assured that they will continue securing public order amid rallies, vigils, and other mass actions linked to political developments in the Senate and other government institutions.
He said the PNP will maintain readiness to respond to possible disturbances while urging the public to remain calm, “Let us not be distracted with the recent happenings in the political arena and let us focus on our mandate, which is to serve and protect the Filipino people.”