AFFECTED establishments near the collapsed billboard in Ecoland, Davao City are calling for accountability from the billboard owners.
A large billboard in front of a mall along Quimpo Boulevard in Davao City collapsed following heavy rain and strong winds on Thursday afternoon, February 2, 2023.
Vanessa Andoy, owner of V-Mac Car Display Center, said in a public Facebook post on February 2, that the billboard collapsed after a strong wind struck at around 3 p.m. There were no recorded casualties.
“This is a wakeup call to those Billboard owners to please inspect your billboard structures, especially after every earthquake or severe wind/typhoon,” Andoy said in a public Facebook post.
“This is also to remind us all na dili mag kumpyansa sa mga billboards (we must be careful when we are near billboards) especially during earthquakes and strong winds. 'Coz we never know unsa ma hitabo. Likay nlng gyd ta [sic] (We have to be vigilant because we’ll never know what happens),” Andoy added.
Paolo Fiel, a car center sales representative, said the billboard had shown signs of collapsing, such as falling debris, specifically when the earthquake struck February 1 in the evening.
He also said last year, the billboard had also destroyed one of their cars. The billboard company had not yet paid for damages, he said.
Fiel added the strong winds led to the collapse of the billboard, which damaged the cars on display and parts of their buildings.
He said that an architect invited by their owner estimated the cost of damages to be around P300,000 to P400,000.
“Unta ipa-inspection sa tag-iya sa billboard kay naglinog baya, pero kaugmaan [pagkahuman sa linog] wala may niadto na taga billboard aron mo-inspection (The billboard owners should inspect the billboard after the earthquake, but none of them appeared),” Fiel said.
“[For City Government concerned offices, I hope] magconduct silag inspection regarding sa mga company na nanag-iya’g billboard, kailangan gyud nila macheck monthly or regularly (they must inspect billboards monthly or regularly),” he added.
The chandeliers displayed inside the Lifestyle building, which neighbors the car center, were also damaged by the collapsed billboard. ICE