Malonzo, Asistio told to stop nasty ‘poster war’

Caloocan City councilor and independent vice-mayoralty candidate Luis Chito Abel urged yesterday mayoralty bets, incumbent Mayor Reynaldo Malonzo and Rep. Luis "Baby" Asistio to dissuade their respective supporters from engaging in mudslinging through a "poster war."

In a statement, Abel said that posters criticizing or maligning Malonzo and Asistio, who are fierce political rivals, have practically defaced the city.

"We are only putting to naught our efforts to beautify the city and rid it of vandals. Let us help control the further spread of these posters as these cheap propaganda materials are not helping the candidates in any way," said Abel.

Initially, Abel was set to run for congressman in the second district of Caloocan against former city mayor Macario "Boy" Asistio and incumbent Councilor Edgar Erice.

He backed out and filed his candidacy for vice mayor instead.

Posters accusing Malonzo of being a "thief" and Asistio a "hoodlum," are pasted on walls and electric posts in the city, islands along Samson Road, and Light Rail Transit (LRT) pillars, among other places.

"The Champions vs the Hoodlums," "Malonzo, magnanakaw," and "Ayaw namin sa kriminal, gusto namin sa marangal," are just a few examples of the poster war.

Former Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) referee and Malonzo’s running mate, Tito Varela, however, said that it would be hard to determine who are behind the posters.

"Mahirap patunayan kung sino ang mga naglalagay niyan," he told The STAR.

Varela, an incumbent councilor himself, also took a potshot at his rival, saying Abel should first "look at himself before criticizing others."

Varela pointed to the posters bearing "We support Abel for Vice Mayor" which were put up weeks before the official campaign period.

"He’s trying to put one over the candidates," Varela said in Filipino.

For his part, Caloocan Commission on Elections chairman Tony Ramos told The STAR that a formal complaint and a sworn statement have to be filed before his office can conduct any investigation on the pasting of negative posters.

Moreover, he said, Caloocan candidates can also put up campaign materials anywhere as there is no common poster area in the city.

"We submitted a proposal for a common poster area but the Comelec disregarded it," Ramos said.

He, however, added that candidates must still comply with the campaign poster size required by Comelec.

Ramos also said that somebody had indeed complained about Abel’s posters in a letter to the Comelec.

Ramos said he directed the letter-writer to file a formal complaint and a sworn statement so the local Comelec office could conduct an investigation. However, the person never bothered to submit these requirements.

In his statement, Abel appealed to supporters of the local candidates to help promote "new politics" in Caloocan by holding discussions or forums with residents on why their bet deserves to win, rather than vandalizing the city.