A Call for Stricter Enforcement of COMELEC’s Clean-up Directive
13 May 2025, Quezon City. – To send a strong message on political accountability and environmental responsibility, the EcoWaste Coalition led a post-election clean-up this morning around Flora Ylagan High School along Malakas Street near the corner of V. Luna Avenue in Quezon City.
Community volunteers from the group and workers from the Quezon City Department of Sanitation and Cleanup Works joined forces to remove campaign materials scattered around the school and nearby streets. The initiative seeks to remind national and local candidates to clean up after the polls and comply with election-related waste regulations.
Community volunteers doing a clean-up after the mid-term elections:
“This isn’t just about picking up trash. It is about setting the tone for responsible leadership,” said Cris Luague, Zero Waste Campaigner of the EcoWaste Coalition. “Candidates should not disappear after election day. The mess they leave behind speaks volumes, and the least they can do is clean it up.”
The clean-up activity also brought attention to the widespread litter that followed the May 12 elections, with campaign posters, tarpaulins, and streamers still found in many streets and polling areas across the country.
“This is a recurring problem every election season, revealing how candidates often neglect the environmental impact of their campaigns,” Luague said. “Win or lose, candidates must take the lead in post-election clean-ups and demonstrate true leadership by taking responsibility for the waste they generated.”
While volunteers and community partners have stepped up to help, the group emphasized that clean-up efforts should not rest on the shoulders of ordinary citizens.
“We’re thankful for the public’s initiative, but this responsibility belongs to those who benefited from the campaign,” added Luague. “We also urge local government units (LGUs) to step up enforcement and make sure candidates, both winners and losers, are held accountable.”
The group also appealed to COMELEC and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to coordinate closely with LGUs to ensure proper implementation of post-election clean-up rules. Additionally, they pushed for long-term measures to minimize campaign waste in future elections.
The Coalition reiterated that this clutter could have been prevented if candidates had complied with the Commission on Elections’ clean-up directive. COMELEC, through Task Force Baklas 2025, had reminded all candidates that the official campaign period ended at 11:59 PM on May 10, and that campaign materials should have been removed by 12 midnight of May 11. The directive also required immediate clean-up efforts in both public and private areas.
“This cycle of waste and neglect has to end,” the group said. “If candidates truly want to lead, they must show that they can also clean up after themselves and protect the environment while doing so.”
The EcoWaste Coalition committed to continue monitoring post-election waste across the country and to advocate for electoral reforms that support environmentally responsible and accountable campaigning.
