UPV removes unauthorized political campaign poster

By Joseph Bernard A. Marzan

Campus staff at the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV) on Wednesday, March 13, were ordered to remove a poster featuring Las Piñas lone district representative Camille Villar, following confirmation that its display at its Iloilo City campus had not been sanctioned by the university.

UPV Chancellor Dr. Clement Camposano informed Daily Guardian that no permission had been sought from the university’s administration for the poster’s placement.

An informant from UPV disclosed that campus policy permits only the display of materials related to university events and partnerships.

Even for non-university entities, posting is only considered upon approval by the UPV’s Information and Publication Office (IPO).

Daily Guardian learned that, hypothetically, even if Rep. Villar’s team had sought consent from the UPV-IPO, such authorization would not have been granted.

The poster in question depicted Villar along with a message for a safe Holy Week, also listing contact details for the Philippine National Police and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Current speculations point to Villar’s potential candidacy for the Senate in the 2025 national elections, aiming to follow in the footsteps of her mother, the term-limited incumbent Senator Cynthia Aguilar-Villar.

Should she run and win, Villar would be joining her brother, former DPWH secretary and current Senator Mark Villar, in the upper house of Congress.