Tuesday, October 03, 2006 Palace to issue rules on billboards
* Lawmaker pushes ban on structures saying such move is legal
MALACANANG is set to come out with an executive order (EO) that will synchronize efforts of local government units (LGUs) and other government agencies to regulate the mushrooming of billboards along major thoroughfares.
Toppled iron-wrought billboards have been blamed as the cause of some deaths in the wake of typhoon "Milenyo," which has left 76 people dead, 69 other persons missing and over a billion pesos in damages. Others were killed in landslides and flashfloods triggered by the heavy downpour.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is helping draft the proposed EO, but it is the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will be the lead agency that would implement the regulation of billboards.
Under the proposed EO, the National Government, through the DPWH will, set the ground rules for the disassembly of precariously placed signs.
Gonzalez said the advertiser and the owner of the billboard structure should both be held accountable for the deaths and destruction for putting up what he called "attractive nuisances."
He said under the National Building Code, city building officials or city engineers are empowered to authorize the building of billboards, its size or location or may order the dismantling of structures even without a court order.
Meanwhile, under the Civil Code, mayors could order city engineers to tear down billboards without judicial proceedings providing that "even when an act or event causing damage to another's property was not due to the fault or negligence of the defendant, the defendant shall be liable for indemnity if through the act or event he was benefited."
"Billboards are nuisance 'per accidens.' They can't be stopped totally because they will say it's their freedom of expression or freedom of speech, but they can be regulated under the police power of the state. It can be regulated to protect the general welfare," he said in a press briefing.
"I doubt if the MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority) has that power (to take down billboards). It is the city engineer's office or building officials which has that power," he added.
Gonzalez said even without the presidential order, city officials may undertake the demolition of billboards if these are deemed to be threats to general welfare. However he acknowledged that some local executives may balk at the EO as it would mean lesser taxes for them.
The 1991 Local Government Code mandates that LGUs or barangays may levy taxes, fees, and charges on billboards, signboards, neon signs, and outdoor advertisements.
He said it would be better if government would take upon itself the regulation of the multi-million billboard industry because businessmen tend to overlook the well-being of the public in favor of profit.
"I don't believe in self-regulation (among billboard advertisers). Businesses desire to get more, earn more. If there is an EO, anything in excess you can remove," he said.
Justice Undersecretary Fidel Exconde, who is representing the department during discussions in a meeting of the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) has submitted a draft EO to Gonzalez but he refused to show it to reporters, saying it still needs some fine-tuning.
Meanwhile, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago argued that a billboard law is constitutional, citing a litany of no less than ten cases decided by the US Supreme Court.
In a privilege speech entitled "We are Living in Billboard Hell", she denounced the annual P1.8 billion outdoor advertising industry whom she charged with corporate greed, "without any sense of shared destiny."
"Billboards are a form of commercial speech, which can be prohibited under the police power of the State," Santiago said.
Santiago had previously filed and conducted public hearings on Senate Bill ()SB) 1714 entitled "The Anti-Billboard Blight Act of 2006."
The Santiago bill imposes an outright ban on: billboards on highways that obstruct or obscure the view of vehicular or pedestrian traffic; billboards in residential areas; billboards on any public property such as streets and highways, telephone or utility poles; and billboards on the roof of any building. The proposed ban is effective immediately.
Santiago said the Outdoor Advertising Association of the Philippines (OAAP) identified the top 10 billboard advertisers as: Globe, Bench, Marlboro, Chow King, Penshoppe, Jollibee, PLDT, Smart, Greenwich, and Tokyo-Tokyo.
"All your high technology and rationalizing glossolalia will not resurrect those who are dead," she said.
The senator said she has written to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, respectfully recommending that the Santiago bill should be certified as urgent.
The senator added that she also wrote to the Supreme Court (SC), through Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban, respectfully recommending the issuance of a memorandum circular to all judges, prohibiting the issuance of temporary restraining orders (TROs) in cases involving billboards.
Santiago told the Senate media that Gonzalez was correct in calling attention to the constitutional aspect of any billboard ban but explained that the issue of constitutionality has long been settled in American decided cases.
She also commended the OAAP for assuming full responsibility for billboard-caused death and damage, but said that its members will simply have to accept that the call of the hour is for a billboard ban.
The senator said critics of the billboard ban, particularly those citing potential lost income and employment are "singing hymns to exploitative capitalist economics."
Santiago said even before Congress passes a law, local building officials and mayors can already remove illegal billboards and sue their owners under Civil Code provision on public nuisance.
The senator said as early as 1965, the US Congress passed the Highways Beautification Act, and later in 2004 the Penn Township passed the Anti-Billboard Blight Act, which she copied and filed in the Senate. (ECV/CPB/Sunnex)
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