MANILA, Philippines - Muntinlupa Rep. Rufino Biazon on Monday criticized Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales' call to expand the roles of soldiers and police in the May 10, 2010 elections.

“I would strongly advise against the proposal of Secretary Gonzales to give the military additional roles during elections. Such a move will only open grey areas, which may eventually lead to the military being used for political interests,” Biazon said.

Some members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) were involved in the “Hello, Garci” scandal, which disclosed that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo allegedly cheated in the 2004 presidential elections.

Beginning January 2010, checkpoints manned by the AFP and the PNP will be scattered in election hot spots nationwide to strictly enforce the gun ban, police chief Jesus Verzosa announced on Monday.

The move is the latest in the reforms that the PNP is trying to enforce for the 2010 elections. Earlier, the PNP also limited the security personnel assigned to candidates to a maximum of four people.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will supervise the checkpoints, which will be referred to as the Joint Security Coordinating Centers (JSCC).

Biazon said the move is also reversing an earlier agreement between the Department of National Defense (DND)-AFP and the Comelec, which was aimed at insulating the military from partisan politics.

 “We should let the memo between AFP-DND and Comelec prevail,” he said.

Biazon is running for senator under the Liberal Party (LP) ticket. His father, Senator Rodolfo Biazon, will run for his seat in House of Representatives.