Comelec to charge bets who don’t remove campaign materials

Inquirer file photo

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will pursue cases against candidates, regardless of whether they won or lost in the May 12 polls, if they fail to remove their campaign materials from public places.

Under Comelec Resolution No. 11086, candidates should have taken down all their election-related materials, including posters, banners and streamers, by May 17.

“Supposedly, these candidates should have removed their campaign materials when the campaign period ended (on May 11). But we gave them five more days after Election Day as an extension. It seems that these candidates are just shameless,” Comelec Chair George Garcia told reporters on Tuesday.

No reminder needed

He said the poll body’s Task Force Baklas is still monitoring different areas nationwide to determine which candidates have yet to comply with the Comelec order.

“We will send notices to these candidates to remove their materials. But in the first place, we do not need to remind them because it is in the law that they must remove all campaign materials no later than five days after Election Day,” he said.

Over 64 metric tons of campaign materials were collected in Metro Manila alone after May 12, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.

“Meaning, that is not even for the entire country,” Garcia said. “How many metric tons would that be for the whole Philippines?”

Not biodegradable

He also noted that many of the yet-to-be-retrieved campaign materials did not comply with the biodegradable requirement set by the Comelec.

Comelec Resolution No. 11111 prohibits single-use plastics, as well as thermoplastic foam and other nonbiodegradable materials and hazardous substances, from being used in campaigns. /cb/abc