Oplan Baklas removes 8 truckloads of illegal tarps in Dagupan
ABOUT eight truckloads of illegal oversized tarpaulins and posters of candidates for the May 13 elections were dismantled and confiscated by the Oplan Baklas teams in a massive operation in Dagupan City on April 10.
Atty. Michael Sarmiento, officer-in-charge election officer of Dagupan City, admitted at the KBP Forum that still the team could not make a complete sweep that day because there were simply too many illegal-sized tarpaulins and posters posted outside designated common poster areas.
“Please be assured that there will be another round (of Oplan Baklas) to clear them from major roads and in the center of Dagupan,“ Sarmiento said.
He rejected claims by a group of candidates that Oplan Baklas singled them out while sparing others’ illegal campaign materials.
“Every time we have Oplan Baklas, there are allegations that we are one-sided but that’s not true,” Sarmiento said and described the charge as “baseless”.
He said before they undertook Operation Baklas, he wrote candidates in Dagupan “so that they, themselves, will observe our operation”.
He said anyone can visit their office to see the amount of tarpaulins they dismantled and to whom these belong to.
All the removed items are deposited at the city Comelec office.
He added that he had also informed the candidates in his letter distributed Monday that all the seized illegal tarpaulins and posters will be used as evidence against them “if someone decides to file a disqualification case or election offense against those erring candidates”.
Sarmiento said they have observed that 90 percent of those removed were campaign posters posted before the start of the campaign period, like the oversized materials and those hung on electric wires and trees.
He added that since he talked to campaign managers of the candidates, the tarpaulins being posted are already with the prescribed size – two feet by three feet.
Sarmiento also said that when posting in a private residential compound, there must be a consent of the property owner, regardless of the size of the campaign material.
“It’s a twin requirement: proper size and proper place, “he added.
The Oplan Baklas in Dagupan was done by elements of the Comelec, Philippine National Police, Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, Bureau of Fire Protection, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the local government unit. (PhilStar Wire Service)
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
