Several posts online are claiming that the Philippine National Police (PNP) released a memorandum preventing police officers from expressing their support for former president Rodrigo Duterte on social media. This needs context.
Since March 13, several posts have been published by various social media pages repeating the same erroneous claim. One post read:
“Nagpalabas ng isang memorandum ang Philippine National Police (PNP) na nagbabawal sa mga tao nito na mag-post o magpakita ng suporta kay dating Pangulong Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Ang sinumang lalabag sa kautusang ito ay maaaring managot sa kasong simple neglect of duty.
(The PNP released a memorandum forbidding its personnel from making any post showing support for former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte. Anyone who fails to comply with this order will be charged with simple neglect of duty).”
The posts include a copy of a “restricted” memorandum initially leaked to Davao-based community media SunStar Davao a day after the misleading claims emerged, where several police officers were reprimanded by the PNP Regional Office 2 for expressing their political views on the International Criminal Court’s arrest of Duterte.
Duterte’s name was not mentioned at all in the leaked memo, aside from the posts used as examples that violated the PNP’s guidelines.
There is no memorandum explicitly prohibiting police personnel from speaking out in support of Duterte. However, the PNP has guidelines on ethical social media posting – which the reprimanded police officers violated in the leaked memo.
According to memorandum circular no. 2024-077, no PNP personnel shall “engage in activities such as commercial and/or political endorsement and promotion” of any public figures. Further, police officers who are also content creators shall “avoid political/commercial advertisement, campaign, opinion and endorsement.”
According to the PNP, the memo was created due to observed practice of some police officers using their phones to vlog while on duty. “While creating content has a critical role in promoting and building the PNP brand image across different platforms, PNP personnel are still bound by policies and must observe the ethics and ethical standards due to public servants (sic),” the PNP stated.
On March 18, the PNP reiterated its non-partisanship and neutrality after it formally filed a case of inciting to sedition against one of its own officers over his social media posts following Duterte’s arrest and detention at The Hague in the Netherlands.
“The PNP is an enforcer of law and order, not a platform for personal and political agenda. Let this be a warning – any police officers who will violate our primary principles of integrity, service and professionalism will be held liable to the law,” PNP Chief Gen. Rommel Marbil said.
Facebook (FB) pages The Buzz Scope (created on Nov. 26, 2023) and FB group PROTECT VICE PRESIDENT SARA DUTERTE published the posts needing context, collectively garnering over 15,200 reactions, 7,000 comments and 10,100 shares.
