DPWH to dismantle 17 'sexy' billboards

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) plans to take down at least 17 billboards that, apart from showing models in skimpy attire, also violate provisions of the National Building Code.

“These lewd billboards pose multiple dangers – they distract drivers who can’t help but ogle at the sexy photos; they pose dangers to motorists and pedestrians when they fall down; they inconvenience everyone when they collapse onto electric and telephone lines; and they cause traffic jams wherever they fall,” DPWH Undersecretary Rafael Yabut, who heads the Operation Baklas Billboard Task Force, said.

Since the DPWH has not yet defined the borderline between decent and indecent, Yabut said they would ask the help of other organizations – such as the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, particularly the Commission on Women; Iglesia Catolica Filipina Independente; the Soroptimist International; and the Catholic Women’s League – to craft the rules.

The department is reviving its efforts against billboards that violate NBC regulations such as being located too near power lines or less than five meters away from the road. Some billboards are put up on defective or illegal structures.

 “Even if these billboards were not sexy, we would still have legal rights to remove them,” Yabut said.