ARMY chief Lt. Gen. Roy Galido yesterday warned members of the 115,000-strong Army force against moonlighting as bodyguards of candidates in the upcoming national and local elections.
In a press briefing at the Army headquarters at Fort Bonifacio in Taguig City, Galido urged the public to report to the Philippine Army any soldier illegally engaged in such illegal activities.
“When you identified there is one, inform us. Immediately, we will implement disciplinary action,” he said.
Asked if the disciplinary includes dismissal from the service, Galido replied on the affirmative.
“If it refers to the Army or concerns the Army, rest assured appropriate disciplinary action will be implemented. Take note that military law is very harsh. It is not subjected to the rules of (civilian) court. That’s why we, soldiers, have to display the highest level of discipline and commitment to serve,” he said.
Galido said the public may also report to the Army if members of other law enforcement agencies are involved in such activities so they can relay the information to the concerned offices.
GUN BAN
Meanwhile, the PNP said 971 individuals have been arrested for violation of the election gun ban which took effect last January 12, coinciding with the start of the election period.
The PNP said the violators included eight soldiers and five policemen.
It said 290 of the violators were apprehended in the National Capital Region.
A total of 962 firearms were seized during the gun ban implementation, of which 288 were in the National Capital Region (NCR). The seized firearms included 376 revolvers and 292 pistols.
The PNP said 254,355 checkpoint operations have been conducted since the election period began.
PNP chief Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil reiterated the PNP commitment to ensuring that the elections will be peaceful and orderly.
“The numbers speak for themselves — our intensified operations are in full force, and we will not let up. The PNP remains committed to safeguarding the electoral process by strictly enforcing the gun ban, neutralizing criminal activities, and preventing any attempts to disrupt the elections,” said Marbil
Marbil urged the public to “cooperate, stay vigilant, and report any suspicious activities that may threaten the peace and integrity of this democratic exercise.”
Galido said the Army is closely coordinating with the PNP, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and other agencies in the enforcement of election laws.
“The election’s success depends so much on how all of us will cooperate to make it peaceful. All we have to do is enforce the law of election as mentioned by the (Comelec) chairman. We are here to assist the Philippine National Police and Comelec in enforcing the law,” he said.
Galido said Army commanders are under instruction to help in the identification of “critical areas” or areas of election concern and prepare troops.
Asked how many Army troops will be deployed for the elections, Galido said: “All the Army is committed. The 115,000 (personnel of the Army). All of us will be committed because we want this democratic exercise successful.”
“We might not be in the frontlines, we might be at the back, collecting information, sharing this information to concerned agencies for their appropriate action. But the whole Army is committed to make this election a successful one,” he added.
NEGATIVE CAMPAIGNING
Meanwhile, amid the brewing word war between the senatorial lineups of President Marcos Jr and former president Rodrigo Duterte, Comelec chairman George Garcia yesterday said there is nothing illegal when candidates and their supporters campaign against a particular candidate or candidates.
“The Omnibus Election Code itself allows negative campaigning. We cannot prohibit negative campaigning per se because it is provided for by the Omnibus Election Code,” Garcia said, citing Section 79 of the Omnibus Election Code which provides that an “election campaign” or “partisan political activity” refers to an act designed to promote the election or defeat of a particular candidate or candidates.
Such acts include “making speeches, announcements or commentaries, or holding interviews for or against the election of any candidate for public office”.
Nevertheless, Garcia said such acts is without prejudice to other possible cases that may be filed against any individual, such as cases of libel or cyber libel.
“But that is already under the jurisdiction of other agencies, like the Department of Justice,” he said.
During the kick-off campaign rally of the Marcos administration’s senatorial slate, the President took a swipe at the rival slate led by Duterte.
Marcos said none of the administration’s senatorial candidates have been involved in “Oplan: Tokhang” or the Duterte government’s “bloody” drug war; in alleged pocketing of public funds during the pandemic; in allowing the country to become a foreign gambling site; or in applauding China’s harassments in the disputed South China Sea.
In response, Duterte alluded to Marcos as being high on drugs during the proclamation rally of his own senatorial slate.
VOTE BUYING
In another development, Garcia said the Comelec will conduct investigate the alleged vote buying activities by an unnamed party-list group in Baguio City.
Garcia said they are waiting for the report of their personnel in Baguio City regarding the incident.
“We are interested in the case so, hopefully, the report will immediately reach us so we can act on it,” he said.
Once they get the report, the poll chief said they will immediately issue a show cause order to the party-list.
“We will not have a second thought to disqualify this party-list or candidates or the nominees of the party-list if this will be proven,” Garcia said.
Earlier, reports came out that a party-list group is allegedly engaged in vote buying activities in Baguio City after images came out of what appeared to be party-list membership cards alongside P100 bills being distributed.
Under the Omnibus Election Code, vote buying are acts wherein a person gives, offers, or promises money or anything of value, directly or indirectly, to induce anyone or the public in general to vote for or against any candidate.
Vote buying is considered as an election offense, which carries the penalty of one to six years imprisonment, disqualification to hold public office, and deprivation of the right of suffrage.
DATA BREACH
Meanwhile, the Comelec yesterday denied a new case of alleged data breach involving personal information of registered voters as claimed on social media.
In a statement, the Comelec said there is no truth to a “Breaking News” post by a certain “Deep Web Konek” claiming to have been in receipt of the supposed data breach.
“The Comelec’s Cybersecurity Division has forthwith launched an investigation simultaneous with the activation o f all relevant cybersecurity protocols, including reporting such information to and enlisting the assistance of the National Computer Emergency Response Team (NCERT) and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT),” the poll body said.
“The Comelec assures the public that there is no data breach/leak,” it said.
The Comelec said the investigation showed that the alleged data leaked are those that were already posted at the Comelec’s official website, which include the “Lists of Applicants for Consideration for the RERB Hearing” and the “Lists of Approved Applicants from the 2013 Election-Year Registration Cycle.” – With Gerard Naval
“The said documents subject of the alleged ‘data breach/leak’ are public documents that have been previously posted and made available online,” it said.
It stressed that such a data breach is unlikely as the Comelec has instituted “industry-standard cybersecurity protocols” after the data breach in 2016.
The Comelec said it has also consistently complied with all the orders, instructions, protocols, and mandatory actions required by the National Privacy Commission (NPC), including the bolstering of the IT infrastructure and implementation of enhanced cybersecurity protocols.
“Comelec has since created a world-class, internationally trained and certified Cybersecurity Division, which has been responsible in the implementation of industry-standard cybersecurity protocols, resulting to the thwarting of millions of hacking attempts,” the Comelec said.
“This imputation of an alleged ‘data breach/leak’ is clearly done with malice and ill intent. They will be investigated thoroughly,” it said.
Back in 2016, hackers group Anonymous Philippines defaced the poll body’s website. Among the functionalities that were affected by the hacking are the website’s precinct finder, video demonstrations, and the search functions. – With Gerard Naval
