THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) started what it called “Oplan Baklas” or the removal of illegal campaign materials on Tuesday, February 11, also the start of the 90-day campaign period up to May 10 for national positions.
In the Tagbilaran city, there was no word, yet, if indeed it carried out the removal of the illegal campaign materials that proliferated in the main streets here. And there still are campaign materials that hung in electric posts and even trees in the city.
This writer tried to contact the city and provincial Comelec offices for this concern but to no avail.
This developed as former senator Bam Aquino was the first to visit Bohol on Feb. 13. He met with supporters and fielded questions to the Bohol media.
During the operation, the poll body and partner agencies will be dismantling campaign posters illegally posted on areas that are not designated common poster areas or other public places.
Those considered unlawful campaign materials are posters, billboards, posters and tarpaulins exceeding 2×3 feet; collage-like poster exceeding 2×3 feet; and posters with single letters of names, when assembled together to form a size exceeding 2×3 feet.
Propaganda materials that are not in designated common poster areas, which are plazas, markets, barangay centers, and other similar places, are prohibited, Comelec said. The campaign materials may be readily seen or read and with the heaviest pedestrian and/or vehicular traffic in the city or municipality.
Monitoring political advertisements on television, radio and print media are also in the radar of the Comelec.
“The number of minutes in which the candidates’ political advertisements can appear starts tomorrow. I repeat on television, they only have 120 minutes per station, in the entire 90-day campaign. On radio, they have 180 minutes per station in the whole 90-day campaign,” Comelec chair Goeorge Garcia was quoted as saying.
He added candidates belonging to a political party are only allowed to spend PHP3 per voter while independent bets are allowed to spend PHP5 per voter.
Deputized national agencies, like the PNP, have already mounted check points in strategic areas to carry out the prohibited acts, gun ban, during the election campaign. (rvo)
