DPWH allows billboard advertising in Metro, key cities

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has allowed billboard display in Metro Manila and other key cities in the country, provided billboard operators comply with the laws and regulations governing outdoor advertising.

In a statement, Outdoor Advertising Association of the Philippines (OAAP) chairman Carlo Llave announced the decision of Emmanuel Cuntapay, executive director of the National Building Code Development Office, an attached agency of the DPWH, to lift the 60-day moratorium on outdoor display.

Llave said operators could start displaying advertisements again provided they have the necessary permits, including a certification from a licensed structural engineer that the billboard is safe and sound.

OAAP members and DPWH officials have agreed to dismantle signs or billboards on sidewalks and those encroaching on roads. To distinguish billboards done by OAAP members from fly-by-night operators, the association’s logo will be painted on the billboards.

It was the OAAP who volunteered to assist the DPWH in the inspection of defective or unsafe billboards, and lead the dismantling of abandoned billboards and the repair of unsafe structures.

At the start of the 60-day moratorium on advertising display last Sept. 28, OAAP members have repaired damaged billboards and dismantled those encroaching on major thoroughfares or located near high-tension wires.

In the absence of new regulations that govern the outdoor advertising industry, the OAAP will continue to comply with the provisions of the National Building Code, according to Llave.

The Senate has already approved on third and final reading a bill that seeks to regulate the outdoor advertising industry. The House is presently deliberating on a similar bill that will later be consolidated with the Senate proposal at the bicameral level prior to the passage of the law.

The OAAP claims the Senate excluded the recommendations of other stakeholders in the industry, including the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the DPWH, before passing the bill.