The Commission on Human Rights welcomes the reminder of Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Archie Gamboa to his fellow police officers to strictly observe their social media protocols, as defiance to this would be meted out with administrative and even criminal charges.

Duty bearers like members of the law enforcement are bound by high standards of ethics and professionalism in carrying out their mandate. Similarly, official communication platforms such as social media accounts must be utilised primarily as tools for disseminating accurate and reliable information to the public, particularly at this moment that our country is still battling with Covid-19.

In the sea of disinformation online, social media content of government offices must only forward genuine public interest and must never be used to malign any individual or cause any harm to anyone with baseless accusations.

We echo the call of the PNP chief and hope that such actions that might compromise the rights of a person would be avoided in the future with the agency’s commitment to strictly enforce its existing protocols.###