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Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Benjamin Madrigal Jr. said Thursday militiamen will remain “non-partisan and apolitical”in the 2019 polls.

“We assure you that the Cafgu (Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Unit) under the operational control of our AFP commanders, although they are deployed locally they are ably lead by our cadre commanders and of course by the commanders on the ground,” he said.

“We make sure that if there are reports regarding some Cafgus that are being utilized we will act and make sure that they will be properly punished. What we are saying is the Cafgus in general are actually under our supervision and we will ensure that they will be non-partisan and apolitical in this exercise,” he added.

Madrigal also gave his assurance the military will not provide personnel to act as security for candidates unless ordered by the Comelec.

“They cannot be used by the politicians. Very strict especially the security coverage especially during the campaign period we have said of course and emphasized during the conference that the AFP will not be providing any personnel security to candidates unless approved by the Comelec,” he said.

“On our part what we are doing is actually providing area security to all candidates while they are in the conduct of the campaign or the whole exercise to make sure that they will be freely moving around without threat from any group,” he added.

However, the AFP chief said those who violate the rules will be sanctioned under the military justice system.

“They are under the military justice system and aside from that they can be charged criminally depending on their violations,” he said. Robina Asido/DMS