MMDA starts clearing poll materials

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday began removing campaign posters following the May 2025 midterm polls.

Personnel from the agency started their “Oplan Baklas” campaign at the Regalado Bridge on Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City.

All items collected will be transported to designated bases in the Ortigas and Marikina areas.

The removed campaign materials will also be donated to partner beneficiaries such as prisons, the organization for the handicapped Tahanang Walang Hagdan, and the environmental group EcoWaste Coalition.

Earlier, the EcoWaste Coalition called on candidates to assist in removing the campaign materials they used for the elections.

EcoWaste Coalition's Cris Lague said, “This isn’t just about picking up trash. It is about setting the tone for responsible leadership… Candidates should not disappear after election day."

He said the mess the candidates leave behind speaks volumes, and the least they can do is clean it up, adding that it is a recurring problem every election season, revealing how candidates often neglect the environmental impact of their campaigns.

The group also called on Comelec and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to work with local governments to ensure the proper implementation of post-election clean-up rules and establish long-term measures to minimize campaign waste in future elections.

“This cycle of waste and neglect has to end… 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 group said.

On Tuesday, the MMDA reported that a total of 6.1 tons, or 6,100 kilograms, of trash were collected in the National Capital Region on Election Day.

According to the MMDA report, 288 bags of garbage were collected from 17 cities and one town in Metro Manila.

The area with the most trash collected was Malabon, with 1.48 tons or 1,480 kilos, followed by Manila with 0.97 tons, Parañaque with 0.72 tons, and District I-B in Quezon City with 0.59 tons.