The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Dagupan City formed its Task Force Baklas a day after the campaign for senatorial elections began to tear down and remove all unlawful election materials posted here in areas not designated by the electoral body.

Lawyer Remarque Ravanzo, city election officer, said he deemed it best to convene the task force as the campaign period for several candidates has already started and campaign propaganda materials have started appearing in every nook and corner of the city.

On Feb. 13, the posters of re-electionist Edgardo Angara and Manny Villar were seen indiscriminately posted in several areas here in violation of election rules.

Task Force Baklas is composed of the election officer as chairman,  Superintendent  Edgar Basbas and Department of Interior and Local Government city  director Expedita Callanta as vice chairmen and a third member belonging to any of the deputized agencies of the Comelec.

Ravanzo noted that the organization of the task force is embodied under section 30 of Comelec Resolution No. 7767 providing for rules and regulations implementing Republic Act No. 9006, otherwise known as the Fair Election Act.

Under the said resolution, local government units are deputized to prevent, remove, destroy, confiscate or tear down any prohibited propaganda materials without any partiality.

Utility service providers like telecommunications firm Digitel and Dagupan Electric Corporation were invited to the meeting to solicit their support and to apprise them of the prohibitions regarding the posting of campaign propaganda materials.

Ravanzo said in this city, the designated common poster areas are the public plaza, the public market and the barangay centers.

He said members of the police and other law enforcement agencies can also apprehend the violators caught in flagrante delicto, and file appropriate charges against them based on the resolution.—EVA

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