THE Commission on Election (Comelec) Cebu Provincial Office will ramp up its “Operation Baklas” to remove unlawful election materials as the official campaign period for candidates for local positions kicks off on Friday, March 25, 2022.Comelec Cebu Provincial Elections Supervisor Jerome Brillantes told SunStar Cebu that oversized tarpaulins and those installed in areas not designated by the poll body as common poster areas will be removed.Brillantes clarified, however, that posters and tarpaulins displayed in private properties will be spared from the operation.Comelec Resolution 10730 states that campaign posters should not be bigger than two feet by three feet and should only be displayed in authorized common poster areas in public places, or in private properties with the consent of the owners.As for the size of the common poster area, it should not exceed 12 feet by 16 feet or its equivalent for political parties and party-list groups, and four feet by six feet or its equivalent for independent candidates.Each party and independent candidate, at their expense and with prior consent from the Comelec, may put up common poster areas in every barangay at the rate of one common poster area per 5,000 registered voters, according to the Comelec resolution.As for other election propaganda like pamphlets, leaflets, cards, decals, stickers or other written or printed materials, they should not be bigger than 8.5 inches in width and 14 inches in length.Allowable common poster areas are selected public places like plazas, markets, barangay centers and the like with the heaviest pedestrian and/or vehicular traffic in the city or municipality. Trees, plants and shrubs in public areas, posts, and walls of buildings or existing public structures in active use, may not be designated as common poster areas.Since the entire Province of Cebu is already under Alert Level 2, Brillantes said candidates will no longer need to secure an authority to campaign from the Comelec office.Candidates just need to secure a permit from the local government unit before conducting campaign rallies, caravans and other political activities.Cebu Province excludes the three highly urbanized cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu.Information driveThe Comelec Provincial Office will also launch a voter’s information drive in the various municipalities and component cities in the province to educate the electorate on how to vote, said Brillantes.Brillantes added that their office has been conducting a series of meetings with the logistic provider for the delivery of the vote-counting machines and other election paraphernalia needed for the May 9, 2022 elections.This will be done in coordination with the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines to ensure the safety of the materials necessary for the successful conduct of the elections, he said.The election paraphernalia will be stored for safekeeping in the Comelec warehouse located in Mandaue City, Brillantes said.Public works banThe start of the local campaign period also signals the start of the government’s ban on procuring entities issuing a notice of award for projects intended for public works, social projects and housing-related projects.But the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) has issued exemptions to the ban. Some exemptions are conducting maintenance of existing or completed public works, emergency work necessary after an occurrence of a public calamity, and projects awarded before March 25.In its resolution issued in December 2021, the GPPB said, “This circular is issued to remind agencies that the election ban is not designed to paralyze the operations of the government, but to insulate government procurement from political partisan activities, usually in the form of new projects, which are designed to influence the public during the upcoming May 9, 2022 national and local elections.” (with CTL)