By DANNY O. SAGUNPIA Dagupan Infocenter

BARANGAY officials can openly support their candidates in the regular elections without violating any rules, an election official clarified Tuesday

Provincial election supervisor Reddy Balarbar said that it is only during the barangay election that the non-partisan concept applies. In such election, political parties are not involved

Balarbar issued the clarification in the wake of complaints that barangay captains have been openly supporting and campaigning for certain candidates in this mid-term election.

He told the Pantongtongan Tayo radio program of the Philippine Information agency over Radyo ng Bayan-DZMQ that there is no law barring village officials to become partisans during elections.

Meanwhile, the continued violations in the use of campaign paraphernalia by all the candidates prompted the provincial poll official to recommend to the Commission on Elections the posting of bond by all the candidates. Such bond will be forfeited in favor of the poll body if the candidates failed to remove all their posters after the elections, he said.

He said he made the proposal during a meeting of the poll body. The idea is under study.

Comelec has designated common poster areas. Many candidates however ignore such designated areas and continue to place their posters in prohibited places such as on trees, electric poles, waiting sheds and walls.

The consent of property owners should first be secured before posters are placed on their walls or fences, he stressed.

The poll body has deputized agencies like the police, environment and natural resources office, public works and highways as well as barangay officials to remove posters from prohibited areas, he said.

It was observed though that the poll body and its deputized agencies now seem to have given up on their job as shown by the mushrooming of posters in almost every vacant space.