Wednesday, July 23, 2008 Ad firms welcome ruling on billboard regulations
THE country's outdoor advertising industry on Tuesday welcomed the ruling of the Court of Appeals (CA) upholding the legality of two circulars issued by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) which impose additional standards and regulations on the construction and maintenance of advertising billboards.
"We respect the appellate court's decision, and we acknowledged the authority of the DPWH to remove billboards along major streets in the metropolis and along national roads in the provinces. We are still hoping that authorities will inform us first before tearing down billboards that do not conform to standards," said lawyer Oliver San Antonio of the Billboard Safety Initiative (BSI).
BSI represents the country's five biggest outdoor advertisers, namely, United Neon, Media Pool, Inc., Summit Media, Outcomm and Big Board Advertiser.
The group is aside from the 40-member Outdoor Advertisers Association of the Philippines (OAAP), which earlier sought a clarification of the DPWH authority in the aftermath of Typhoon Milenyo two years ago.
San Antonio believed that the exercise of police power to regulate billboards by the DPWH is valid as long as safety and health issues are concerned, but that authority should also be tempered by reason.
"It is actually in the National Building Code that the DPWH has jurisdiction but they have to be cautious at least in implementing it, and should first inform the billboard owners of the defects or if they do not conform to the standards so that they can fix it," he added.
BSI along with the OAAP earlier called on legislators to formulate policies that will define the safety standards of the P2-billion industry.
San Antonio said BSI is prepared to comply with all government-approved regulations even as he assured that their billboards are structurally sound and compliant with latest safety standards.
The CA Third Division chaired by Associate Justice Martin Villarama Jr. granted the DPWH's petition to void a writ of preliminary injunction issued by the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) in favor of billboard firm Astro Advertising.
The CA ruled that the DPWH had used police power to justify public safety measures such as building regulations.
Following the onslaught of Typhoon Milenyo, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ordered the DPWH and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to dismantle billboards found to be a danger to the public based on the standards prescribed by the National Building Code and the Structural Code of the Philippines.
At least one man was killed in Makati after a billboard fell on his vehicle at the height of the typhoon. Several others were also injured during the incident.
The DPWH has removed 8,789 of the 14,122 billboards it had inspected nationwide.
Close to 3,000 of the dismantled billboards were in Metro Manila.
On January 26, 2007, Public Works Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. issued guidelines to "regulate and control the location, design, quality of materials, construction, use and maintenance of advertising signs/or signboard structures which have been observed to be among those that endanger life, health, property and public welfare due to fortuitous events such as strong winds, typhoons, earthquake, fire, and other calamities."
On September 20, 2007, the OAAP asked Manila-RTC Branch 36 to stop Ebdane from implementing the guidelines.
Before the RTC could resolve the issue, the OAAP withdrew its petition for certiorari and filed a motion for intervention containing identical arguments.
The Manila RTC, in its decision, granted the motion to intervene and issued a preliminary injunction against the DPWH. (AH/Sunnex)
