MMDA to sue judge over billboard ruling

MANILA, Philippines - The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is planning to file an administrative case against a Pasay City judge who stopped the agency from rolling down 119 billboards owned by Ever Corp. through a court injunction.

Lawyer Alu Corotan of the MMDA said they are still studying their legal strategies, but one of their alternatives is to file a complaint against Judge Divina Gracia Lopez for gross ignorance of the law.

Corotan stressed that only two Ever Corp. billboards in Quezon City were subjects of the complaint filed before before Lopez’s sala, so her ruling cannot cover the rest of the billboards owned by the company.

“If you’re questioning only two billboards, the court cannot make an order, which will cover the rest of the billboards,” Corotan said in the agency’s weekly program aired over radio dzBB.

The agency will also file an appeal on Lopez’s ruling last week that granted Ever Corp. a writ of preliminary injunction.

“The agency will highlight the fact that these are illegal structures and operating without building permit,” Corotan said.

An injunction means that the MMDA cannot roll down or dismantle billboards owned by the company unless the case is over, said Corotan. Most legal battles in the country usually last for years.

Ever Corp. asked for the injunction after the agency dismantled two of their billboards along EDSA in Quezon City. Corotan said the local government asked for their help to dismantle billboards covered by the city order of demolition.

MMDA spokesperson Tina Velasco also said the agency will not stop regulating billboards as part of their campaign to clean metro Manila. The MMDA and several advertisers’ groups have failed to agree on the standard size for billboards during negotiations earlier this month.

She said Tolentino wanted 80 square meters as a standard size but the advertisers insisted on 225 square meters to as large as 1,000 square meters.