With the start of the campaign for the local candidates, the Commission on Elections has warned politicians against displaying oversized campaign materials. Cebu City election officer Marchel Sarno said huge campaign posters are no longer allowed during the period.
Before the filing of candidacies, many huge posters bearing the faces of politicians have sprouted across the city. The Comelec earlier said it cannot touch those oversized posters since the campaign period has not yet started and that there's no law that would go after those behind them.
Now that the local campaign has started, the Comelec wanted those huge political posters taken down in order to level the playing field. First to heed was south district congressional candidate Aristotle Batuhan, who was seen personally leading his men in taking down his oversized posters.
Batuhan was one of those candidates who flooded the city with huge posters prior to the local campaign to announce their causes. While no election offense was committed as their posters did not promote their candidacies, it's clear that the purpose of putting up those materials was to advertise their names.
Good thing Batuhan, a lawyer, heeded the call of the Comelec. Otherwise the poll body or his political opponents will have a valid ground to petition for his disqualification.
But there are many oversized posters bearing the bloated faces of candidates that remain posted on buildings around the city. The Comelec should now start going after those erring candidates to teach them a lesson. They are clearly violating the law and should be made to pay for their actions.
However, it remains to be seen whether the poll body is really serious in prosecuting candidates who violate the campaign poster law. The fact that we hardly heard a candidate being tried for such violation would only mean that the law governing campaign poster sizes is just another toothless measure.