CHIEF Supt. Patrocinio Comendador Jr. led his personnel at the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 in taking oath yesterday morning that they are not siding with any candidate in the May 9 national and local elections.
The PRO 7 director also led his staff in signing the covenant of non-partisanship.
“Ang amo lang siguraduhon nga fair ug secure ang elections (We will make sure the elections will be fair and secure),” Comendador told reporters.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) also declared a nationwide full alert starting yesterday and this means all police officers are not allowed to go on leave.
Comendador said the PNP started taking the oath of non-partisanship program last week with provincial and city police directors.
“We would like to emphasize that the police cannot make the candidate win the election, they are the ones who can do it. The police do not start trouble,” he said.
The police official added they will not tolerate politicians who committed violations.
“I am giving a fair warning to both parties that we will not hesitate to arrest and file charges against those candidates who violate the election laws,” he said.
Comendador said the oath of non-partisanship activity is not a reaction to lawyer Pablo John Garcia, who asked the police not to be used by the administration, which he believed happened in 2013 elections. Garcia is One Cebu’s congressional candidate for the new seventh district.
“This came first. This is a nationwide program,” said Comendador. “The police is committed to be neutral, to be non-partisan in this election. Biases or partiality is a subjective thing, it is a perception that depends on where you are standing.”