Philippine National Police force. INQUIRER FILES
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� The country鈥檚 police force on Thursday said it would 鈥渆xercise maximum restraint and tolerance鈥� as groups stage rallies to register their protest over the conduct of the 2022 national and local elections.
According to national police spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo, it was the directive of Philippine National Police (PNP) officer-in-charge (OIC)聽 Lt. Gen. Vicente Danao.
鈥淣agbigay na ng instruction 鈥榶ung ating OIC, si Police Lieutenant General Vicente Danao, na ang mga magbabantay para dito sa mga gagawing mga protesta ay to exercise maximum restraint and tolerance,鈥� she said in a public briefing.
(Danao has given an instruction to exercise maximum tolerance and restraint to those who will stage protests.)
While the PNP calls on the public to respect the vote of the majority of Filipinos, Fajardo said the institution respects the Filipinos鈥� right to express their sentiments on the recently concluded polls.
She added that the PNP will place security measures during these activities and manage the traffic situation around the venues of the protest actions.
鈥淜arapatan nila yan na sila ay magsagawa ng kanilang mga kilos-protesta. On the part of the PNP ay maglalatag tayo ng seguridad diyan para din sa proteksiyon ng mga magra-rally and then, at the same time [ay] para na rin i-manage 鈥榶ung traffic and 鈥榶ung hindi maantala 鈥榶ung iba nating mga kababayan na dadaan sa mga lugar na yan,鈥� the PNP official said.
(It鈥檚 their right to hold protests. On the part of the PNP, we will put in place security measures to ensure the protection of protesters and at the same time manage the traffic around the area so that others will not be inconvenienced.)
鈥淎asahan din natin na sila naman din ay makikipag-cooperate at makikipag-coordinate sa atin para maging smooth 鈥榶ung gagawin nilang mga pagkilos,鈥� she added.
(We expect them to also cooperate and coordinate with us to run smoothly.)
A day after the May 9 elections, youth and labor sector groups assembled near the central office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Intramuros, Manila, to protest the poll results.
They protested the poll body鈥檚 alleged unpreparedness in the conduct of this year鈥檚 national and local elections and demanded clean and honest polls.
Based on the Comelec鈥檚 transparency server, which so far reflects 98.35% of election returns, presidential candidate Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was poised to become the country鈥檚 next top leader with over 31.1 million votes.
His running mate Sara Duterte-Carpio, daughter of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte, was also set to become the next vice president with over 31.5 million votes.
READ: Marcos, Duterte head for landslide win