Looks like it’s now a case of “I removed mine, now remove yours.”
Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista has ordered the removal of all billboards, streamers and signs bearing the faces and names of city officials, days after workmen started painting over his initials “HB” on the decorative tiles adorning the sidewalks.
City administrator Victor Endriga said the mayor gave the order in a meeting Wednesday, wherein Bautista identified the areas with the most number of signs conveying “greetings” from local politicians or claiming that a project is “compliments of” certain officials.
“I had it done, so should you,” Endriga quoted Bautista, a former comedic actor also known as Bistek, as saying during the meeting.
Quoting city engineer Joselito Cabungcal, an Inquirer report on Wednesday said Bautista had ordered the removal of his initials from the sidewalk tiles in response to mounting criticisms, particularly from groups assailing so-called epal or credit-grabbing politicians.
In an interview Wednesday, Endriga claimed that Bautista wanted to have his initials removed as early as last year. “It only took so long but he has been giving instructions for their removal,” he said.
Endriga also said it was another city official—not Bautista—who thought of replacing the earlier “SB” sign on the tiles with “HB.”
The SB signs came out during the term of Bautista’s predecessor and now House Speaker Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte.