MANILA: Newly-installed Armed Forces Chief Lt Gen Emmanuel Bautista yesterday assured the public that the military would be insulated from politics during the upcoming elections.
In his assumption speech, Bautista noted that the military has sworn to protect the country’s democratic institutions and processes.
“Your Armed Forces personnel shall remain non-partisan in the upcoming May elections. You can count on us to assist in ensuring honest, credible, orderly and peaceful elections,” he said.
Bautista also vowed to follow the straight path being advocated by President Aquino.
“Soldiers shall be held to high ethical standards and strict codes of conduct. The trust of the people is vital in the performance of our delicate mandate as protectors of the people and the state,” he said.
The constitution bars soldiers from engaging in partisan politics or supporting candidates. The only political exercise that soldiers are allowed to do is to vote.
The military is mandated to support the police in ensuring an honest and peaceful election in May.
Some officers were dragged into a controversy during the time of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who was accused of rigging the 2004 polls.
In 2005, some military generals were accused of poll fraud after their names were mentioned in the “Hello Garci” recordings.
The “Hello, Garci” scandal involved wiretap conversations between a woman believed to be Arroyo and a poll official believed to be then Commission on Elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano. The conversations supposedly discussed how the 2004 poll results in Mindanao were manipulated in favour of Arroyo.
In a report entitled “Sins of the Cavaliers”, a group of rebel soldiers claimed that while the canvassing of votes was being held inside military camps in Jolo, poll watchers were bribed by officers for them to leave the canvassing area.
The report claimed massive cheating also took place in Zamboanga, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and other areas in western Mindanao.
Officials claim that poll cheating is “a thing of the past”, and that measures are now underway to uphold professionalism among the troops.
The Philippine star
