Last Friday, April 8, 2022, municipal election officers of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) began tearing down and removing campaign paraphernalia, oversized or otherwise, that have been placed on electric posts, trees, public buildings and structures.
In Virac, the election officer was accompanied by the police and representatives of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as members of the task force created by the Commission for the job of clearing said places of the unsightly, illegal posters.
From the Palta junction, the task force cleared the trees, power poles, waiting sheds and bridges of the posters, proceeding towards the población where the team apparently stopped by the Gogon bridge.
There, tarpaulin posters of different candidates were in full bloom, with the barangay chairman of Concepcion using 2×2 lumber to put up posters promoting his candidacy for municipal councilor on the railings of the concrete embankment.
Why these were left untouched we do not know, unless the task force took shelter from the rain and decided to rest until the Holy Week is over.
Under Section 28 of Resolution No. 10730, the COMELEC, may motu proprio or by itself, immediately order the removal, destruction and/or confiscation of any prohibited propaganda material.
The local election officer is supposed to immediately prepare a notice to candidate or party of their violation on this section.
“Failure to remove the same within seventy-two (72) hours from notice, such candidate or party is presumed to be the owner or the person who causes such violation,” the provision states, with the persons doing the posting as well as the candidate liable for the violation.
Any person, party, association, or government agency may file with the COMELEC through its field office, a petition to confiscate, remove, destroy and/or stop the distribution of any propaganda material on the ground that the same is offensive to public morals, libelous, illegal, or subversive, it adds.
Perhaps, ordinary citizens offended by the rampant violations should file petitions with the election office so that the latter could notify the candidate concerned of their violation of the Fair Elections Act and the Omnibus Election Code.
The only problem with this is that undermanned election offices may be too busy with the preparations for the May 9, 2022 national and local elections that they would not have the time and personnel to do the job.
A source told the Tribune that the DPWH team tasked to assist the election office is now sitting idly as they await advise from the COMELEC where they would be deployed and what posters are to be removed.
If the election officers have prepared an inventory of the illegal campaign paraphernalia in their respective areas and their locations, the lists would have to be sent to the DPWH or any other participating government office so that it would be acted upon.
That same Act also encourages parties and candidates to use recyclable and environment-friendly materials and avoid those that contain hazardous chemicals and substances in the production of their campaign and election propaganda.
Local government units have also passed legislation governing the use of plastic and other similar materials, and the parties and candidates shall comply with the same, the law states.
For several elections, not even one has been made liable for the violation of the law against illegal campaign posters.
The growing use of tarpaulin in election campaigns, replacing biodegradable paper, has prompted the EcoWaste Coalition to warn against cadmium use in tarpaulins.
Why both the national and local governments are closing their eyes to this vital issue is beyond the understanding of the public, who will ultimately suffer from the consequences.