MMDA, advertisers set rules for billboards

MANILA, Philippines - The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and outdoor advertisers on Thursday forged an agreement to regulate the use of billboards in Metro Manila.

MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino said the Metro Manila Outdoor Medis Magna Carta will ensure public safety, orderliness, and the uniformity of outdoor billboard structures.

Tolentino said the magna carta sets new guidelines in the construction, installation and display of billboards, LED (light emitting diode) boards, and other advertising signs along major and secondary roads and open spaces within the metropolis.

"This document is another milestone towards the achievement of MMDA’s vision of a safe, pleasant, and better Metro Manila,” Tolentino said.

Under the agreement the size of all outdoor signs and structures will be limited to 216 square meters inclusive of the space required for the landscape or vertical gardens. Thirty percent of the total area of the billboard shall be allotted for a landscape or vertical garden, while two full-grown sustainable trees shall be planted and maintained within the setback areas of billboard structures.

Meanwhile, ground signs and sign structures along EDSA, C-5, and Commonwealth Avenue should have a minimum height of 24 meters and maximum of 36 meters from the ground. The height limit for all other areas in Metro Manila shall be determined by the respective local government units.

Outdoor media advertising collaterals should also not obstruct traffic signs and landscapes. Likewise, the billboard and LED-board ban along Roxas and Macapagal Boulevards shall remain in effect.

Covered by the new rules and regulations are all existing and proposed advertising signs, billboards, display signs, electrical signs, LED signs / boards, ground signs, roof signs, and sign structures along major thoroughfares, public roads, secondary roads, avenues, streets, roads, parks, and open spaces within Metro Manila.

Tolentino adds that the magna carta,  which was finalized after almost one year, is doubly significant because it was crafted by the outdoor media industry stakeholders themselves, together with the MMDA.

Signatories to the Magna Carta include officials of the Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA), Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies (4As), Media Specialists Association of the Philippines (MSAP), Adboard, and Outdoor Advertising Association of the Philippines (OAAP).

“I am grateful to the officials of these organizations for their cooperation. This Magna Carta is a manifestation of their genuine social corporate responsibility,” Tolentino said. - Mike Frialde