NVizcaya mayor welcomes billboards ban
BAMBANG, Nueva Vizcaya (5 October) -- Mayor Pepito Balgos here said the current ban on billboards in the country is a welcome move to prevent the loss of lives and limbs during disasters and calamities.
"This should also serve as an eye opener among local government units to draft their own regulatory policies regarding billboards," Balgos told PIA.
He said that while other local government units in the country benefit much from advertisements in their localities by allowing the indiscriminate establishment of billboards, it should not also compromise the safety of the residents and their properties.
"We must put more importance on the safety of our constituents before the income that we can derive from these advertisements," Balgos added.
The opposition mayor said the recent incidents wrought by huge billboards in Metro Manila convinced them to integrate their regulatory measures regarding billboard permits in their municipal tax code to save lives and properties in times of disasters and calamities.
Balgos made the reaction after giant billboards damaged properties of residents in Metro Manila during the height of typhoon 'Milenyo'.
Earlier, President Gloria macapagal-Arroyo has directed the public works and highways department and the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) to coordinate with LGUs in identifying safe places for billboards.
The government is also set to further strengthen the crackdown on hazardous billboards with the issuance of the administrative order soon, recognizing that the problem demands a sense of responsibility among advertisers and owners in initiating safe plans to protect the public. (PIA NVizcaya) [top]
