Netizens vent ire on loud poll jingles

DIGOS CITY — Some netizens here have ranted on social media about the nonstop playing of political ads and jingles bursting out of loudspeakers in their communities as early as 5 a.m. and as late as bedtime as the May 13 midterm elections draw close.

Netizen Floramae said some campaign supporters on board vehicles drove around their subdivision—disturbing their sleep—continuously playing the political jingles of their candidates.

Another netizen, Sheila Siarez, said these campaign supporters should moderate the volume of their loudspeakers.

Noise pollution

She said repetitive, full-blast jingles were tantamount to noise pollution.

Some candidates have also kicked off their campaigns with proclamation rallies and motorcades traversing along the national highways, which caused a gridlock on the Davao-Cotabato road.

In Bansalan, Davao del Sur province, Commission on Elections (Comelec) officer lawyer Reyn Joy Bullecer said the local poll body was monitoring overspending candidates.

Candidates who belong to a political party can spend P3 per registered voter while independent bets can spend P5 per voter.

But given the candidates’ spending limit, the rules on campaign giveaways are not clear.

The Comelec on Saturday started to take down oversized posters and those that violated the common poster area rule.

Based on the Comelec guidelines, one common poster area can be placed per 5,000 registered voters in a village.

The maximum dimensions of poster areas for political parties is set at 3.66 meters by 4.88 meters, or an area of 17.84 square meters. —Orlando B. Dinoy, Inquirer Mindanao