Removing campaign posters prohibited

CEBU, Philippines — Private individuals are reminded not to remove the campaign materials posted in the assigned poster areas or other public places.

If they do, they may face complaints for illegal defacement or tearing down of posters according to Provincial Election Supervisor Atty. Lionel Marco Castillano of the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

He explained that only government agencies and deputized individuals can remove the posters.

In case campaign posters are posted on private properties, only the owners or someone the owners' authorized to do so can remove the campaign material.

If there are campaign posters on areas which are not designated by the Comelec, anyone can report it to the respective Election Officer (EO) of the city or town.

"Better take a picture and report it to the Election Officer," Castillano said.

Moreover, Comelec-Cebu Province expressed support to the plan of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-7) to remove campaign posters on trees.

Castillano emphasized that the laws and policies which protect trees are not suspended just because it is election season.

"We must remember that the election does not suspend the implementation of all laws," he reiterated.

He warned candidates that posting on trees, especially using nails, is specifically prohibited under the Fair Elections Act.

Not only it is an election offense, it is also another violation of the national laws protecting the trees.

"The candidates should ask EOs kung unsay dos and don'ts sa election. Basin mao pa nay makapa-delikado sa imong kandidatura," he said.

DENR-7 has warned all candidates for the 2018 barangay elections to avoid piercing or nailing their campaign materials on trees.

This advisory came few days before the May 14 barangay and SK elections in over 3,003 barangays in Central Visayas.

“This is to issue a reminder to all election candidates that putting up of streamers and tarpaulins on trees especially when using iron nails could severely damage the health condition of trees,” said DENR 7 Regional Director Gilbert C. Gonzales in a statement.

Gonzales said that trees should be protected and should not be used as surface for posting campaign materials, advertisements or even public announcements.

“Doing such will impair the vigor and structural integrity of a tree as it invites attack by harmful insects, fungi, and diseases,” said Gonzales.

DENR-7 Enforcement Division together with Provincial Environment and Natural Resource Officers provincial environment and natural resources officers and Community Environment and Natural Resources Officers will be conducting Operation Baklas and issue notices to candidates found violating the law.

Meanwhile, as the campaign fever heats up, the EcoWaste Coalition advised aspiring Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan leaders to shun the four, not three, “Gs” of Philippine politics.

“Guns, goons, gold, as well as garbage, are the bad ‘Gs’ of the country’s political life, especially in time of elections,” Aileen Lucero, national coordinator of the coalition said in a separate statement.

The coalition is calling upon the candidates not to resort to these bad ‘Gs’ to get their chosen posts in the barangay or youth councils.

"Please also do not dirty the walls, streets and the trees with your campaign materials. Keep your campaigning activities garbage-free,” she added.

The group also urged that candidates will stick to the rules and be mindful of the environmental consequences of their campaigning efforts.

The group, likewise, appealed to the candidates to voluntarily remove their campaign materials immediately after the polls on May 14.

They also reminded them and their supporters not to dump or burn the removed campaign materials as this is against Republic Act 9003, or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, that barangay and SK leaders are supposed to enforce. (FREEMAN)