Excerpt from Philippine Star

Meanwhile, environmentalists urged newly appointed Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes to pursue green electoral reforms.

“In view of his promise to carry out massive reforms within the commission, we urge Chairman Brillantes to equally introduce changes that will ‘green’ and cut the wastefulness in future polls,” Roy Alvarez, president of the EcoWaste Coalition, said in a letter to Comelec.

“We hope that the Comelec, under your watch, will exercise effective leadership to protect not only the sanctity of the ballot, but also safeguard the environment from further degradation associated with political activities,” EcoWaste told Brillantes.

Campaign posters and streamers, many of which are made of non-biodegradable material, usually comprise the bulk of garbage found in streets and waterways after every election.

“Our monitoring of the 2007 and 2010 elections shows blatant breach of electoral as well as health and environmental regulations traceable to the failure of Comelec, national agencies and local government units to enforce existing electoral and environmental laws,” EcoWaste said.

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