EcoWaste Coalition Begs Poll Candidates and Supporters to Mind Their Garbage
Liwasang Bonifacio
A waste and pollution watchdog asked local candidates for the May 9 polls to ensure that their proclamation rallies and other campaign activities are garbage-free.
The EcoWaste Coalition reiterated its push for eco-friendly campaigning
activities after witnessing the unabashed littering at separate rallies held
yesterday in Manila to proclaim the candidacy of re-electionist Mayor Joseph
Estrada and former Mayor Alfredo Lim.
“We find the unchecked littering at public assemblies inexcusable,” stated
Aileen Lucero, Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition, a non-partisan group espousing
waste prevention and reduction in the escalating electoral campaign.
“There is no justification for turning our parks and streets into dumping
grounds. It’s totally unacceptable for
us to litter even in the exercise of our democratic rights. It’s not right even if we know that street
cleaners will pick up after us without complaining,” she pointed out.
“It’s not too late for well-meaning candidates to literally clean up their
campaign sorties. They should use their
moral influence to request their supporters to mind their garbage,” she added.
“The public should be constantly reminded not to drop any litter and every
rally should end with a clean-up led by the candidates themselves,” she
suggested.
At the rally held in Liwasang Bonifacio, orange-clad supporters of Estrada who
came in droves littered the park with campaign leaflets, cardboard hand fans, plastic
bottles, polystyrene food containers, fast food wrappers, snack packs and fish
ball sticks.
“We found Styrofoam containers for dinner given to supporters scattered all
over the place,” lamented Lucero.
Over at Plaza Miranda, some supporters of the Daang Matuwid Coalition in yellow
shirts also littered the place with campaign materials.
“While not as ‘bad’ as the trashing of the bigger rally in Liwasang Bonifacio,
it’s still littering and unacceptable just the same. The throwing of yellow confetti towards the
end of the program only added to the mess,” Lucero said.
The EcoWaste Coalition urged all candidates and their camps to apply the following
5Rs towards eco-friendly campaigning:
1. REDUCE
trash by not littering and not using campaign materials that are barely reused
or recycled.
2. REFUSE overspending for campaign advertisements
and materials.
3. RETRIEVE
campaign paraphernalia for reusing or recycling purposes
4. RESPECT
the trees by keeping them poster-free.
5. REMOVE election campaign materials
immediately after the polling day.
The EcoWaste Coalition appealed to the Commission on Elections, Department of
Environment and Natural Resources and Department of Interior and Local
Government to step up the drive for election trash reduction.
Dubbed as the “Basura-Free Election 2016,” the government-led drive seeks to promote
compliance to Republic Act 9003, the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, by
all political parties and party list groups and their candidates and supporters
in the course of the campaign
-end-
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