Senate probe eyed into dangers of billboard proliferation

URBAN SPACE JAM | The street view in Metro Manila gets more jagged and cluttered by the day, thanks to these barely regulated billboards. (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

MANILA, Philippines — The continued proliferation of billboards on major thoroughfares and the dangers they pose have prompted a senator to call for a congressional inquiry.

Through Senate  Resolution No. 924, he filed early this week, Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. asked the appropriate committees in the upper chamber, including the public works panel which he heads, to conduct the probe.

“Data on accidents attributable to billboards may not be readily available as it is lumped under the violation of distracted driving, but anecdotal evidence [suggests they] really cause distraction while driving especially because of its light and even its content,” the resolution reads.

“Not only do light-emitting diode (LED) billboards cause distractions to people traversing the roads because of glaring lights, but more so do motion billboards. There is also a question of stability that is posed by these kinds of billboards, which are more prone to accidents during calamities,” it pointed out.

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Revilla, thus, stressed in the resolution  the need for “an intensified implementation of applicable laws and regulations covering the construction, operation, maintenance, and monitoring of billboards in the country.”

“It is imperative to secure the safety of the riding public who are at special risk to [fall] prey to the hazards that are necessarily linked with billboards,” he said.

The senator also noted the March deadline given to owners and operators to comply with the standards outlined in Executive Order No. 165.

“As the deadline set by EO No. 165 draws near, it is only proper to determine whether billboard owners and operators have complied with the standards set forth therein,” said Revilla.