PIA Press Release
Friday, March 25, 2011
MMDA to review billboard regulation with advertisers
MAKATI CITY, 25 March (PIA) – The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will meet today with advertising officials to find measures to reduce the rising number of billboards along EDSA and other major thoroughfares in the metro.
MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said now is the proper time to take decisive steps to regulate the installation of roadside commercial billboards, which are eyesores and cause accidents; these are also earthquake hazards.
Tolentino also said that the objective of the meeting with advertisers is to come up with a win-win solution to address the problem without affecting their business operations. He added that the main concern in the meeting is the safety of the public, especially during calamities such as earthquakes.
Advertising officials from the Ad Standards Council, Inc. (ASC), Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA), Association of Accredited Advertising Agencies (4As), and the Outdoor Advertising Association of the Philippines (OAAP) will join the MMDA in the exploratory meeting.
The MMDA will also update the advertising officials on government regulations and policies on advertising billboards.
After a series of meetings with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and congressional hearings on billboard regulations, the MMDA will soon dismantle poorly constructed billboards that are earthquake hazards, said Tolentino.
"It is well-accepted that billboards, to withstand earthquakes and other natural disasters must be well-anchored and have sufficient lateral support," Tolentino added, citing a US Federal Emergency Management Agency Manual on Earthquake Hazard Mitigation for Non-Structural Elements published in 2005.
He also mentioned typhoon "Milenyo" in 2006 that toppled billboards in Metro Manila that caused damages to lives and properties.
Tolentino likewise said that roadside advertising presents a real danger to driving safety, with conservative estimates putting external distractions responsible for up to 10 percent of all road accidents based on the 2007 study of Brunel University West London.
According to Tolentino, billboards also have negative environmental effects. He said that stationary billboards like tarpaulins are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) coverings and generate significant wastes to the limited space in landfills and dumpsites.
The MMDA chairman also noted that these billboard materials are also non-biodegrable and non-recyclable that is highly hazardous to the environment. (MMDA/PIA-NCR/rjb/jeg)
