MMDA removes more 'offensive' billboards along EDSA

MANILA, Philippines - Following last week’s removal of billboards along EDSA that featured seven members of the country’s rugby team, the Philippine Volcanoes, clad only in their briefs, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) yesterday removed more billboards not only for allegedly being “offensive” but also for violating the National Building Code.

Yesterday morning, MMDA personnel took down the billboards of actresses Angel Locsin and Anne Curtis in sexy attire along EDSA near Boni Avenue in Mandaluyong. Similar billboards along EDSA near the TriNoma mall and in Pasay City were also taken down, the MMDA said.

The MMDA said although the billboards may be interpreted as “offensive” or “indecent” by some motorists passing through EDSA, these were taken down for violating the size requirements of the National Building Code and for being installed without the proper approval of the concerned local government units.

Valenzuela City Mayor Sherwin Gatchalian complained to Mandaluyong Mayor Benhur Abalos about the billboards that featured the Philippine Volcanoes and were installed near the Guadalupe Bridge. The billboards were taken down after Abalos talked with the advertiser about it.

MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino, however, said the Volcanoes’ billboards were taken down not only because of their “offensive” content but also because they violated billboard size restrictions and easement guideline, which states that a billboard should be located at least 10 meters away from the Pasig River.

Last Sunday, the MMDA announced that it has formed a committee to look into the content of billboards along EDSA. Tolentino said the task force will be headed by Marikina Mayor Del de Guzman with Fr. Roderick Castro, the parish priest of the National Shrine of the Our Lady of Guadalupe, and MMDA Assistant General Manager for Planning and spokesperson Tina Velasco as members.

Tolentino said the committee will reiterate the existing Advertising Board of the Philippines (AdBoard) code of ethics that promotes good values, moral responsibility, decency, and courtesy.

At present, billboard contents are regulated by the AdBoard while the MMDA is the agency tasked to make sure that billboards along EDSA comply with the requirements of the National Building Code.

Tolentino said the MMDA will still recognize the advertising industry’s self-regulation “but the government has to protect the public morals.”

According to the MMDA, there are at least 2,000 billboards along EDSA with many of these installed in Makati City, Pasay City, Quezon City and Mandaluyong City.