ILOILO City – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 6 reminded election candidates and their supporters to refrain from posting or attaching campaign materials on trees to prevent harm to living plants.
In an advisory posted on their Facebook page, DENR-6 emphasized the importance of protecting trees and promoting more sustainable campaigning methods.
“Individuals are encouraged to support this initiative by speaking out against the practice and advocating for cleaner, more sustainable campaigning. Let’s protect our environment and promote responsible campaigning,” the advisory read.
The DENR-6 provided several reasons for prohibiting the practice of posting campaign materials on trees:
* Hammering anything into a tree is intrusive and causes harm.
* A tree is a living organism, and any injury, such as this, is damaging.
* The outer bark of a tree protects it from diseases and decay. Breaching this layer can allow harmful organisms to enter.
* The extent of the damage depends on various factors, such as the severity of the injury, the species and age of the tree, and its overall condition.
This reminder follows the start of the campaign period for Senate and party-list candidates.
Under the Commission on Elections (Comelec) rules and regulations, the placement of campaign materials for national positions is permitted only in designated common poster areas.
The list of designated common poster areas is released by the Office of the Election Officer (OEO) before the start of the campaign period, which began on February 11. These designated areas refer to temporary structures set up exclusively for the display of campaign materials, not posts, trees, walls, or public structures actively used for other purposes.
Campaign materials found on non-designated areas, such as trees and posts, will be confiscated and inventoried by the Comelec, and the violation will be reported to the Comelec Law Department for proper action.
Attaching campaign materials in areas outside of the designated common poster areas is considered a violation of Section 3, or Lawful Election Propaganda, under Republic Act No. 9006, also known as the “Fair Elections Act.”/PN
