A total of 1,308 personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP) who have relatives running in next year’s elections have been reassigned, an official said on Thursday, October 17.

PNP spokesperson Brigadier General Jean Fajardo said the figure is out of a total of 1,586 personnel who have relatives up to the fourth degree of affinity and consanguinity seeking elective posts, based on data from the police force’s Directorate for Personnel and Records Management.

She said the reassignment of the remaining police personnel would be processed from Thursday until Friday.

Fajardo said this is part of efforts to shield police officers from partisan politics.

“We remain nonpartisan and impartial when it comes to the elections. This is expected among our personnel and their reassignment is a normal procedure,” Fajardo said in a press briefing in Camp Crame.

The Police Regional Office (PRO) Cordillera has the highest number of reassigned police officers with 180, followed by PRO-9 (Zamboanga Peninsula with 144; PRO Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR), 122 and PRO-6 (Western Visayas), 118.

She said covered by the recall are police escorts assigned to politicians and private individuals who will run in next year’s elections.

Fajardo also said PNP chief General Rommel Francisco Marbil had sternly warned police officers not to meddle in the elections. (PNA)