DPWH mulls two-month ban on construction of billboards

As they commence with the inspection of outdoor advertisement structures in the metropolis, an official of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said yesterday they are contemplating on calling for a two-month moratorium on the installation of billboards.

Task Force on Billboards action officer and Executive Director Emmanuel Cuntapay of the NBC Development Office-DPWH, said "we are intending to issue a moratorium order wherein no sign permits and other certificates would be issued until such time we are able to complete our assessment in Metro Manila. There will be no construction, permits or relocation."

He said the temporary ban on billboards might run from one month to two months. They are expected to submit the results of their inspection to the task force after 30 days. DPWH Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. is the task force chairman.

The task force has dispatched several ocular inspection teams to evaluate the billboards’ condition, while the Metro Manila building officials were asked to submit within five days an inventory of the structures in their areas of jurisdiction.

The DPWH began removing the mangled billboard frames littering the corner of EDSA and the Magallanes interchange yesterday afternoon, causing traffic jams in the area.

Cuntapay said they would comply with President Arroyo’s Administrative Order 160 that directs the DPWH to conduct field inspections, evaluations and assessment of all billboards and determine those that are hazardous and pose imminent danger to life, health, safety and property of the general public and to abate and dismantle the same.

Under AO 160, the DPWH is tasked to determine if the billboards pose imminent danger; violate applicable laws, rules and regulations; are constructed within the easement and road right-of-way; and are constructed with the necessary permit — as in other cities and other national highways and major thoroughfares.

Cuntapay met yesterday with officials and members of the Outdoor Advertising Association of the Philippines (OAAP) and proposed to sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the group.

He said an MOA would be beneficial for the Task Force on Billboards since, "to us in the department, it would be better to encourage self-regulation. We cannot do the validation of maintenance of these structures alone. It is the owner of the structure themselves who can maintain this so we will sign a MOA with them so they can safeguard the size and the height and they can immediately report to us if they found any violations."

OAAP president Frank Abueva said he supports the MOA idea, "in fact, this was our proposal five years ago."

Apart from this, Cuntapay said the OAAP could also become a member of the committee drafting the implementing rules and regulations.

The DPWH is also reportedly holding seminar workshops on the provisions of the National Building Code until Oct. 24, among the municipal and city engineers since the local governments would be the entity issuing permits for billboards.

Meanwhile, Malacañang wants the dismantling of hazardous and illegal billboards to be done quickly to prevent accidents even as it assured the outdoor advertising industry that their business would continue to flourish.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the AO 160 issued by President Arroyo Wednesday "will give more teeth to the strict regulation of billboards so these will not pose danger to the people." — Evelyn Macairan, Paolo Romero