Local bets urged to clean up, be mindful during campaign sorties

MANILA, Philippines – Candidates for local posts were reminded by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to be considerate and clean up after their campaign sorties.

The campaign period for local candidates officially starts on Friday, March 29.

“Pinapaalalahanan natin and mga kandidato to keep the campaigns clean, and by clean, I mean literally clean. Ang problema sa mga campaign sorties ay nagiiwan yan ng maraming basura,” Jimenez told reporters in an interview on Thursday.

(We are reminding candidates to keep the campaign clean.  The problem is garbage accumulates in the venues of campaign sorties.)

“Mga bote ng tubig, mga lalagyan ng mga lunch box nila, mga supot, mga plastic and these add a considerable load to the trash already inundating the city,” he added.

(Water bottles, lunch packages, paper and plastic bags are all over.)

“So candidates should be very responsible in cleaning up after themselves.”

Aside from keeping their campaigns clean, local bets were also reminded to plan their political rallies or sorties “considerately.”

“Be considerate of the local communities especially the candidates who love holding rallies at 4 in the morning or at 5 in the morning. Those are a constant source of irritation for communities all over the country,” Jimenez said.

“So we would ask that the candidates themselves take the initiative to campaign more considerately,” he added.

For motorcades, Jimenez said that local candidates should adhere to road rules.

“When you talk about motorcades, while motorcades fall within the ambit of the authority of the local government with regard to the use of streets, please be aware that not all streets are 8-lane highways” he said.

“There are a lot of streets that accommodate only the one moving vehicle and the double parked vehicle, so again be considerate of the communities which you are campaigning to,” he added.

Jimenez also reiterated Comelec’s order to local bets regarding the removal of their illegal campaign posters as he warned them that non-compliance is an offense.

READ: Comelec orders local bets to remove illegal campaign posters 

“We’ve already sent out notices to candidates, their political parties and we’ve already broadcast the same announcement saying that candidates have to take down the materials that they’ve already posted during the pre-campaign period,” he said.

“As soon as the campaign period starts, these materials will be in violation of law, therefore leaving them vulnerable to charges of election offenses,” he added. /gsg