Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Erwin Garcia urged voters not to vote for candidates who keep violating election laws.
"Simple lang. Sa mga botante huwag niyong iboboto yung mga pasaway, yung mga di sumusunod sa patakaran. Alam namang bawal dun pa rin naglalagay (It's simple. Voters, don't vote for those who misbehave and don't follow the rules. They know it's prohibited, yet they still do it)," Garcia said in an interview on the first day of the local campaign period on Friday, March 28.
The poll chief together with Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairperson Romando Artes led the dismantling of illegally posted campaign materials in Manila as part of the nationwide simultaneous "Oplan Baklas".
Garcia called this a matter of stubbornness among candidates who are testing the power of the Comelec its partner agencies. He urged the public to report illegally posted materials with even by just ending a picture, even without a formal complaint, as they will take action.
He also urged candidates to train those who are posting the materials on where the common poster areas are, how to place them, and the sizes of the campaign materials to be used. Because if they will just let them do it however they want, they will just post them anywhere.
Candidates were also told not to cover campaign materials that have already been posted by others.
"Respeto lang po doon sa mga nakakabit na. Kahit naman nangangampanya tayo, kapag may nagkakabit na, hindi mo tatakpan o tatanggalin yung nakakabit na. (Let's show respect to those who have already put up their campaign materials. Even when we're campaigning, we shouldn't cover or remove what others have already displayed)," Garcia said.
"Hindi po ba? Nauna yun eh. So dapat kahit sa panahon ng pangampanya, hindi tayo nagugulangan. Dapat dito pantay-pantay lang, pare-parehas ang laban (It's only fair, right? They were there first. So, even during the campaign period, we shouldn't be undermining each other. It should be an equal playing field for everyone.)," he added.
Dismantled election paraphernalia, according to Garcia, in coordination with local government units (LGUs) will be donated to the Bureau of Jail Management of Penology (BJMP) which they can use to convert these to usable materials.