DPWH blames sexy billboard ads for slow traffic

MANILA, Philippines - Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. yesterday blamed the traffic slowdown on sexy billboards.

“If there is no vehicular accident, then chances are there might be a huge sexy billboard up ahead,” Ebdane said, adding that motorists are tempted to stop and ogle at the (billboard) models, resulting in the slowing down of traffic flow.

He said that if the moral issues against the vulgar outdoor advertisements and complaints that they could cause vehicular accidents are not enough reason for advertisers to pull down their billboards, then the slow traffic should convince them.

Ebdane admitted that sometimes the suggestive billboards also distract him while driving.

“They (outdoor advertisers) know that some of these billboards are sexually suggestive. They should voluntarily remove these billboards,” Ebdane added.

DPWH Director for Planning Service Melvin Navarro said: “It’s so huge, you can’t help but look and in the thick of traffic, a split-second distraction can mean slowdown, if not accident.”

Traffic in the metropolis reportedly crawls at an average of 10 kilometers per hour (kph).

The 10 kph speed is often the pace during rush hour along EDSA, Ortigas Ave., Shaw Blvd. and Roxas Blvd.

Navarro said the sexy billboards “will lessen travel speed because people slow down to get a good view of the sexually explicit billboards.”

Data released by the DPWH’s Metro Manila Urban Transport Integration Study (MMUTIS) showed that the traffic speed in Metro Manila is considered one of the worst in Asia.

“The level of congestion in Metro Manila is severe enough to cause an average travel speed of 10 km/hour, only slightly faster than that of Bangkok, which has the lowest travel speed of any major Asian city,” the MMUTIS study said.

In Asia, Singapore has the fastest average travel speed of 30 kph, Hanoi, 20 kph, while Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo both have 15 kph.

Earlier, Ebdane ordered Undersecretary Rafael Yabut to speed up the dismantling of illegal, unsafe and sexy billboards.

Billboard operators have already pulled down 20 of 37 billboards displaying indecent and immoral content. – Evelyn Macairan