Quezon City: Police officers who will allow themselves to be used by politicians and candidates in the upcoming May midterm elections will not be promoted, Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil warned on Monday. In an interview, Marbil emphasized that the police organization must remain “apolitical” every election season.

According to Philippines News Agency, Marbil stated, “We will make sure you will not be promoted pagka nagamit ka dito (if you are used in the elections),” during a discussion with reporters at the 72nd founding anniversary of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) at Camp Crame in Quezon City. He stressed the importance of maintaining public respect for the PNP as a neutral body during elections.

Marbil mentioned that the PNP would coordinate with the National Security Council and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency to enforce this policy. He reiterated, “Nagagamit ng pulitiko, dapat hindi puwede. Huwag tayo magpagamit (We should not allow ourselves to be used by politicians). Let us be apolitical.”

Additionally, Marbil addressed the challenges posed by the usual 3Gs (guns, goons, and gold), as well as the increasing prevalence of fake news during elections. He announced that the PNP is working on a “better solution” to tackle the fake news issue, which they plan to propose to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), alongside other concerns such as vote-buying through e-wallets.

Marbil also directed the CIDG to intensify operations against loose firearms and instructed PNP units to enhance police presence in election hotspots to maintain peace and order. The PNP is conducting Comelec checkpoints to enforce the gun ban during the election period, which, according to Comelec Resolution No. 10999, spans from Jan. 12 to June 11.

The campaign period for senators and party-list representatives is scheduled from Feb. 11 to May 10, while local candidates will be allowed to campaign from March 28 to May 10.