MMDA chief asks judges to go slow on TROs

MANILA, Philippines - Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Oscar Inocentes yesterday appealed to regional trial court (RTC) judges not be hasty in issuing temporary restraining orders (TROs) in favor of outdoor advertisers.

Inocentes, himself a former Quezon City RTC judge, said some trial court judges are quick to grant the TRO petitions of outdoor advertisers against the MMDA. Once the TRO is granted, Inocentes said, the MMDA can no longer proceed to remove any illegally placed outdoor advertisement in Metro Manila.

“If this continues, Metro Manila would soon be a jungle of advertisements,” he said.

According to Inocentes, the MMDA is particularly concerned about the illegal waiting sheds with advertisement posters that have sprouted in Makati and Quezon City.

“These waiting sheds were put up by these outdoor advertisers without consultation with the MMDA. As a result, buses stop at these waiting sheds thinking that it is allowed by the MMDA and cause traffic jams. We cannot remove these waiting sheds because the advertisers have secured TROs from the courts,” he said.

“We keep on taking these down, they just put it back again. Judges should not just issue these TROs right away. They should consider the public’s welfare first,” Inocentes said.

Meanwhile, Inocentes stressed that local government units cannot issue permits to outdoor advertisers and give them permission to put-up illegally-placed outdoor advertisements and billboards.

“Some of these outdoor advertisers make arrangements with local government units. However, local government units cannot issue permits. It is only the MMDA which can do that,” he said.