Operation Baklas intensified as campaign period for local posts nears

Lawyer and Comelec-7 Director Francisco Pobe advises all candidates to remove all their campaign materials before the start of Oplan Baklas this March 28. | Photo by Niña Mae Oliverio

CEBU CITY, Philippines—The Commission on Election Central Visayas (Comelec-7) is gearing up for the campaign period for the local positions in the midterm elections. 

The campaign period for the local elections, which are for the candidates for the House of Representatives, provincial, local, and city officials, will start on Friday, March 28, and end on May 10. 

Comelec-7 Director Francisco Pobe said that as of March 21, the regional office had already removed 31,810 campaign materials during their Operation Baklas, which started last February. 

Of this number, 25,173 were from Cebu, while 6,637 were from Bohol. 

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Meanwhile, there are also 518 candidates and partylists that the regional office served with notice to remove their campaign materials: 305 in Bohol and 213 in Cebu.

However, Pobe could not provide further details on who these candidates were or what party lists were since he only had the figures from the central office as of press time.

“Ang among gipadalhan ang partido ug kandidato because presumably, bisag unsaon pa natog istorya, ang end user, and end beneficiary, and pulitiko man ug ang partido,” Pobe said. 

(We served the party and the candidates because presumably, even if whatever way we spin the story, it is always the end user and end beneficiary, the politician and the party will be the one to benefit.)

He added that their main problem was those posters or materials being placed outside the common poster areas like in trees, government establishments, barangay and municipal halls, among many others. 

Biodegradable campaign materials

“During sa akong paglibot sa mga munisipyo dinhi sa province of Cebu (During our visits to the municipalities here in the province of Cebu), I saw some of the tarpaulins pasted in the government establishments but as a matter of diplomatic approach to them, I advised them to voluntary remove and put them in proper places,” Pobe said. 

Moreover, Pobe also urged the candidates to opt for biodegradable campaign materials to prevent harming the environment.

“At the same time, dili pwede nato ni basta-basta i-dispose kay dili ni basta-basta malata,” Pobe said. 

(At the same time, this cannot be easily disposed because this cannot be easily broken down or rot.)

He added that the Comelec has partnered with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for the proper disposal of these propaganda materials. 

In a report by the Philippine News Agency, Comelec Chairperson George Erwin Garcia also warned the candidates to be responsible for their campaign materials. 

Election propaganda rules

Comelec Resolution No. 11086 states that prohibited election propaganda should be taken down by the candidate or party at least 72 hours before the campaign period starts. 

“Otherwise, we will take them down immediately and, later on, we will just issue show cause after show cause to compel you to take them down,” Garcia said in an interview.

“If the area already has a campaign poster of another candidate, let us respect that. Don’t put yours on top of it. We can avoid having these conflicts if we have respect for one another,” Garcia added.