MMDA starts campaign cleanup, keeps clear of areas with no proclaimed winners

Clearing teams of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority on Wednesday started removing campaign materials in parts of Metro Manila, but steered clear of areas where winners have yet to be proclaimed, lest they be accused of politicking. “Hindi namin tinatamaan ang walang proclamation, baka magkaroon ng kulay,” MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said in an interview on dzBB radio. Tolentino led one of the teams of the Metro Parkways Clearing Group in removing posters and tarpaulins from phone and electric lines in Pasay City. A separate report by dzBB’s Mao dela Cruz said the MMDA cleanup teams assembled before dawn and made their way to Pasay City as of 7 a.m. While scavengers and volunteers had started removing campaign materials Tuesday, posters and tarps continued to make eyesores of many areas in Metro Manila Wednesday morning. In Quezon City, many posters covered walls of schools and even churches, dzBB's Allan Gatus reported. The Commission on Elections earlier warned candidates it would crack down on them if they posted campaign materials outside common poster areas. But in the homestretch of the campaign, the posters and tarpaulins were indiscriminately plastered in several public places, including overhead phone and electric lines. — BM, GMA News