BY MARY JOY CAVAÑAS
ILOILO City – Estimating some 15 tons of garbage post-elections, the Iloilo City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) appealed to the public to clean up after barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.
“To our fellow barangay residents, after the elections, we hope you initiate the removal and gathering of all the materials you posted,” Engr. Neil Ravena, CENRO head, said in an interview yesterday.
Ravena assured the city would collect the campaign materials for recycling.
“We will schedule the collection of these, and rest assured that these materials will not end up in the sanitary landfill,” he added.
The CENRO head also emphasized that although election campaign materials are of low value for recycling, they take time to decay.
“Last election, we collected an estimated 12 tons of plastic. They may be light materials, but the volume is high. And now, based on our monitoring, since it is the barangay elections with many candidates, there could be more,” Ravena stressed.
Recently, the CENRO has warned candidates for the barangay and SK elections and their supporters to refrain from posting, tacking or nailing their campaign materials on trees.
Ravena said Republic Act No. 3571 prohibits cutting, injuring, destroying, or tearing down planted or growing trees and other plants in public places such as roads, plazas, parks and schools, among others.
He added that Section 3 of Presidential Decree 953 states that violators shall face penalties such as imprisonment for six months to two years or pay a fine of P500 to P5,000, or both, as prescribed by the court./PN
