Useless waiting sheds to be torn down

The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will continue to dismantle waiting sheds that serve more as advertising billboards rather than shelters for commuters waiting for a ride.

Bobby Esquivel, chief of the MMDA’s sidewalk clearing operations department, in an interview, said several advertising agencies have complained but he said his men are operating within the bounds of law.

Advertising agencies have accused the MMDA of violating a so-called memorandum of agreement with the agency but MMDA chairman Bayani Fernando has terminated it, Esquivel said.

"Prerogative or choice yan ng chairman," Esquievel explained noting that the agency is not out to dismantle all waiting sheds.

He stressed that MMDA personnel are only removing those that will affect or obstruct re-aligning and traffic improvement projects.

"Hindi naman lahat, yun lang tinamaan ng re-alignments like yung nasa loob na ng fences na hindi titigilan ng buses, (Not all of them. Only those that will be affected by the realignments, such as those that are behind fences where buses don’t stop)," he said.

Esquivel added that the MMDA’s move to remove waiting sheds located along major roads that are no longer needed are part of the agency’s effort to rid Metro Manila of dangerous and improperly posted advertising structures.

"Naging business na kasi, hindi na public service (It has become an industry, no longer a public service). Some are oversized, sub-standard, or are already visual obstructions."

Visual obstructions, he explained, are advertising materials or billboards that block or compete with proper road signs.

Esquivel said a case filed against them by advertising firms at the Quezon City Regional Trial Court has actually provided the MMDA with the proper venue to explain its actions. The MMDA is due in court on Monday to present its side.