ALMOST a month since the national and local elections, campaign posters of some candidates remain displayed on the roadsides.
This prompted the Commission on Elections (Comelec) 7 to warn the candidates to remove their campaign materials or else they will impose administrative sanctions against them.
The candidates were given a deadline to remove their campaign materials five days after election day, or from May 12, 2025.
Comelec 7 Director Francisco Pobe, in a news forum on Tuesday, June 10, said the election officers will be directed to identify and issue sanctions against those candidates whose names are still plastered on the roadsides.
He said while most candidates from Cebu island have complied with show-cause orders to clean up, “only one or two have yet to do so.”
Barangay, SK elections
Meanwhile, with the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections slated for Dec. 1, Comelec 7 affirmed it will proceed with preparations based on existing laws.
This comes despite recent developments in Congress regarding term extensions for elected officials.
Pobe explained that while the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading House Bill 11287, which seeks to extend the term of barangay and SK officials until May 2029 on June 9, a conflicting bill from the Senate also proposes a different setup.
He clarified a Bicameral Conference Committee will reconcile the two versions of the bill, one from the Senate and one from the House.
“I cannot just make a forecast sa wisdom sa duha because I believe these are all beneficial to all barangay officials,” said Pobe.
The House bill proposes a six-year term with one re-election for barangay officials, and a single term for SK officials, while the Senate version grants a four-year term for three terms to both SK and barangay officials.
Pobe reiterated Comelec currently bases its preparations on Comelec Resolution No. 11132, which schedules the barangay elections on Dec. 1.
The election period for the upcoming polls will run for 65 days, with 45 days designated as the election period and 30 days for post-election activities. The election period will run from Oct. 27 to Dec. 31.
The filing of Certificates of Candidacy is scheduled from Oct. 1 to 7.
Pobe reminded aspiring candidates that once a COC is filed, they are immediately covered by pre-election campaigning rules and other election laws.
He also emphasized the non-partisan nature of barangay elections.
“Under the law, it should be non-partisan and non-political. We can only use an association, supposedly,” he said.
The campaign period itself will only last for 10 days.
Voter registration for the barangay and SK elections will commence on July 1.
Pobe expects most of the registration activities to involve transfers, deactivations, and reactivations of voters.
A gun ban will also be imposed during the election period.
Pobe expressed hope for “energetic and enthusiastic” participation from the youth in the upcoming elections, noting that “this election is
for them.”
He added that voting in the barangay elections serves as a training ground for the youth to become future community leaders. / JPS