By: Emme Rose Santiagudo
With the nearing conclusion of the local and national midterm polls, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Iloilo City appealed to all candidates to be responsible by removing their campaign materials scattered in the city.
According to Assistant City Election Officer Jonathan Sayno, the candidates are obliged to dismantle the campaign materials they put up around the city.
“Under Republic Act (RA) 9006 or the Fair Elections Act, iya na ya obligation sang mga candidates ang ila own posters, wala na kami discretion,” he said.
Sayno said several candidates have already committed to remove their campaign materials.
He emphasized that all the poll bets should remove their political materials for the cityÂ’s cleanliness.
“Ang aton panawagan sa winning and losing candidates nga ang ila mga campaign materials posted anywhere public man or private, ila ini nga obligasyon ang pagkuha para magbalik sa normal kag sa matinlo ang lugar,” he stressed.
Sayno added that the local government units (LGUs) can also initiate cleanup drives to remove the campaign posters scattered in the city.
Meanwhile, defeated reelectionist and incumbent Mayor Jose Espinosa III said he will designate a team to lead the cleanup of campaign posters in the city.
“Ang posters kay tama kahigko gid ang siyudad subong kay sang eleksiyon kinahanglan macleanup na kita. So, I will be tapping the General Services Office (GSO) and our street sweepers,” he said.
He also encouraged the residents and barangay officials to initiate the cleanup of campaign posters in their respective areas.
“Ang mga barangay and barangay officials, ma-start naman sila pangkakas para matinlo aton siyudad,” he said.Â
