Billboards can worsen light pollution

After the damage wrought by Typhoon Milenyo on Metro Manila, particularly the uprooted trees, the collapse of many billboards and the consequent loss of lives and property led government agencies to review existing regulations and procedures. The director of the Department of Public Works and Highways has asked building officials to conduct an inventory of all billboard structures, including those not covered by permits. Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando has cited at least one specific law of the MMDA requiring all billboards to have the MMDA approval, however, it was found after the inventory that none of the collapsed billboards had the necessary construction approval. The latest report of the MMDA inspection showed that "99 percent of the fallen billboards in Metro Manila were structurally weak and 80 percent of the billboards inspected were substandard but oversized so people could see them easily". Hence, the strong winds easily toppled them down. Moreover, Chairman Fernando stated that "the billboard builders seem to be trying to overshadow the other billboards and that’s why they have been making them bigger and bigger".

The National Building Code was enacted in the 70s and this certainly needs updating in order to regulate their construction and the rules made more relevant to the many changes and innovations that have taken place in the structural requirements for outdoor advertisements such as billboards. Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay said that what is needed at present is a stringent code that will ensure the compliance of billboard proprietors and local government units to a set of relevant and appropriate regulations.

An aspect of outdoor advertising that needs to be addressed when updating the rules on billboards is the type of outdoor lighting that are mounted in order to make the advertisement effectively visible even at night. Not only should the authorities focus their regulations on the structure and construction of the billboards. They should also measure the impact of these advertisements on the human subliminal or subconscious mind, as well as the eye and on the night sky. The widespread use of bad outdoor lighting has an extreme impact on the night sky and this is commonly known as "light pollution", according to a local astronomy club in Northern Virginia. Light pollution from lighted billboards affects the driver’s eyes and can interfere with road safety in the highways. Bright lights from towering billboards can even disorient migrating birds and cause them to crash into structures. This is also a waste of energy that is costly to taxpayers and consumers. The night sky is meant to be dark and with these advertisements and too much commercialism, nature is somehow desecrated, thus excessive lighting is considered pollution.

The changes in the regulations in the National Building Code should also consider the light pollution problem.