Print

ALAMINOS City, Pangasinan – As local bets have been preparing intensely for the campaign period to kick off on March 29, 2019, a field official of DENR here urges politicians to make the forthcoming campaign ‘environmentally friendly.’

Lawyer Lito Salatan, DENR’s Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer for Western Pangasinan, has appealed to local candidates and their supporters to spare the trees from partisan politics amid the proliferation of ‘advocacy materials’ of politicians seeking elective posts in the May 13 midterm polls.

Salatan said no campaign materials should be nailed or hooked up on the trunk of trees or be dangled on their branches adding that the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) has assigned common posters’ areas were campaign materials of candidates  are to be displayed.

“Trees are not common posters’ areas and whoever put or hang campaign materials on trees can be charged for election offense, “Salatan said who himself was a former municipal vice mayor before he joined DENR in 2015.

Should they (candidates and supporters) do this, Salatan warned that the CENRO’s Task Force Baklas will take those campaign materials down and will be ready to cooperate with COMELEC for the prosecution of those responsible.

He has urged the local bets to make their political campaign ‘environmentally friendly’ saying that “trees should not be involved in partisan politics by not making them carry campaign materials for or against candidates.” Trees should rather be ‘mute witnesses’ of peaceful and orderly polls he quipped.

He said that he will seek audience with local bets to persuade them comply with R.A. 9003 or the Solid Waste Management Act especially during campaign rallies.

He suggested that in their campaign rallies and sorties, candidates and their supporters should do the so-called “clean as you go” practice by bringing their own waste baskets to make sure that the venues where they hold their rallies would be free from litters and trashes.