Comelec to Cotabato candidates: Clean up your mess

KIDAPAWAN CITY — Commission on Election officials in Cotabato province’s capital city asked local candidates on Sunday to help remove campaign materials that continued to litter the city. “I am now appealing to those candidates [to] take the initiative to help the commission in cleaning the trash of those irresponsible candidates in the previous elections," city election officer Mercedes Pijo said. Pijo added posters and streamers remained plastered on common poster areas six days after the May 10 polls. She added that while the Comelec has launched the “Operation Baklas" to remove the campaign materials, winning or losing candidates still have the “moral obligation" to clean up their mess. Pijo admitted that the operation is an additional burden to the local Comelec’s duties due to lack of manpower. For her part, Antipas town election officer Joel Celis said they have asked local police offices to help in the cleaning operations in his municipality. “The commission has no sufficient manpower to do the clean up. I appealed to the village officials in Antipas to help cleaning their respective areas," Celis said in a text message. -Williamor Magbanua/SD/LBG, GMANews.TV