EcoWaste Coalition: Candidates should clean up campaign materials

EcoWaste Coalition on Tuesday called on candidates to help in removing the campaign materials they used for Eleksyon 2025.

“This isn’t just about picking up trash. It is about setting the tone for responsible leadership… Candidates should not disappear after election day," said Cris Lague from EcoWaste Coalition.

"The mess they leave behind speaks volumes, and the least they can do is clean it up. This is a recurring problem every election season, revealing how candidates often neglect the environmental impact of their campaigns,” added Lague.

The zero-waste advocates led clean-up operations in Quezon City on Tuesday morning together with community volunteers and workers from the Quezon City Department of Sanitation and Cleanup Works.

They expressed gratitude for the public who helped but stated that candidates themselves must lead the clean-up.

“We’re thankful for the public’s initiative, but this responsibility belongs to those who benefited from the campaign. We also urge local government units (LGUs) to step up enforcement and make sure candidates, both winners and losers, are held accountable,” Lague said.

The group also called for the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to coordinate with Local Government Units (LGUs) to closely coordinate the proper implementation of post-election clean-up rules and long-term measures to minimize campaign waste in future elections.

“This cycle of waste and neglect has to end… If candidates truly want to lead, they must show that they can also clean up after themselves and protect the environment while doing so,” they said.

As per Comelec’s Task Force Baklas 2025, candidates should have removed campaign materials in both public and private areas by 12:00 midnight on May 11. —Jiselle Anne Casucian/ VAL, GMA Integrated News

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