The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority on Sunday said it collected 107 truckloads of election materials.
MMDA Metro Parkway Cleaning Group head Francis Martinez said ‘‘Oplan Baklas’’ has collected 630 cubic meters of election materials equivalent to 178 tons from Feb. 9 to May 11, 2016.
Martinez said the massive operation was conducted on May 10 that collected 117 cubic meters or 33 tons of materials mostly from schools.
The next day, MMDA collected another 22 tons of election materials.
Martinez said that the agency is expecting more than 100 truckloads of election materials at the end of the operation on May 30.
He said that the number of collected election materials from the May 9 election was higher than those collected after the 2013 polls.
Martinez said that cities of Manila and Quezon have the most number of collected materials.
The agency deployed around 350 personnel roaming around Metro Manila to remove the election materials everyday, including weekends.
MMDA Chairman Emerson Carlos said the agency prioritizes removal of election materials near school zones in preparation for the opening of classes in June.
Collected materials will be donated to interested agencies for recycling for as long as a request will be addressed to the MMDA.
Carlos said the MMDA was more than willing to donate the campaign materials to benefit the people, especially those who need them most.
He said that the agency originally planned to use the confiscated tarpaulins during times of emergencies and natural disasters.
Carlos noted that the previous MMDA mercy missions in Yolanda-hit areas of the country brought tarps tfor use as temporary shelters for typhoons victims.
Instead of storing the materials, Carlos said that more people will benefit if the tarpaulins are donated to advocacy groups that would recycle the materials.
