GMA certifies as urgent Miriam’s billboard bill

President Arroyo certified as urgent yesterday a proposal filed by Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago making it illegal to construct billboards in specific public places.

Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs Gabriel Claudio said the President has already certified as urgent Senate Bill 1714 or the "Anti-Billboard Blight Act" filed by Santiago.

Claudio said the SB 1714 was included among the certified urgent measures by the President for passage of the Senate since last week.

Claudio said Mrs. Arroyo certified the Santiago bill as urgent since the proposal will form part of the government measure to prevent future danger to lives and property posed by illegal or hazardous billboards.

"We hope the certification would give impetus to the measure that is urgently needed to safeguard lives and property," Claudio said.

Santiago has already delivered the sponsorship speech for the bill and requested Majority Leader Sen. Francis Pangilinan to calendar her proposal for floor debates when the Senate resumes session on Nov. 6.

"It was force majeure that toppled all those killer billboards. It was the finger of God pointing at crass materialism. It is time to put a stop (to) worship of the golden calf of corporate greed, and to return to basic community values," Santiago said.

The senator praised Mrs. Arroyo "for her courageous leadership and responsive sensitivity to public outrage and public demand for safety and aesthetics in our highways."

Santiago proposed a full moratorium on the construction of billboards if they obstruct or obscure the view of drivers and pedestrians.

The bill also makes illegal any billboard that blocks the scenery from the highway; those located in residential zones; those erected in any public property, telephone or utility poles, or natural features such as trees and rocks.

Santiago also proposed to make illegal the erection of billboards on roof of buildings and those whose construction obstructs the windows or doorways of adjacent buildings.

In addition to the ban on certain billboards, the bill also requires a billboard to be constructed at the minimum of 1,000 feet away from any interchange, right-of-way, street intersection, historical sites and public buildings.

Billboards will be allowed to be constructed a thousand feet away from schools, hospitals, churches, retirement or nursing homes, cemeteries, public parks and playgrounds, recreation areas, and convention centers.

The bill limits the size of any billboard to 300 square feet and at the height of 50 feet from the ground.

The measure also raises the annual fee for a billboard permit for a new construction to P7,500.

Last week, Mrs. Arroyo issued Administrative Order 160 creating a task force to be headed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The President tasked the DPWH to conduct an inventory and inspect all billboards and dismantle those without permits or posing danger to the public.

The task force was also directed to recommend the filing of charges against owners of illegal billboards and local officials who allowed the construction of the outdoor advertising before the Department of Justice.

Santiago earlier called on the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to file charges against the owners of the billboards blamed for at least one death and the injuries of many at the height of typhoon "Milenyo" that struck Metro Manila last Sept. 28.

Santiago said the PNP and the MMDA should initiate the filing of criminal charges against the owners of the "killer" billboards.

The senator also called on Metro Manila mayors to remind their subordinates and officials of the provisions of the Penal Code making them liable for negligence and tolerance in the commission of offenses, particularly in allowing the erection of billboards that pose imminent danger to the public.

The MMDA, on the other hand, said it is preparing a case against owners of the two billboards that collapsed along EDSA last week.

For his part, DPWH Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. said a total of 42 billboards have been dismantled as of yesterday. — With Edu Punay, Michael Punongbayan