MMDA to inspect all 2,000 Edsa billboards

THE METROPOLITAN Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will conduct an inspection of all 2,000 billboards posted on the 23-kilometer-long stretch of Edsa starting next week following a joint meeting with outdoor advertising groups and local government units.

MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino also said that the agency would address the danger posed by two billboards which were damaged in a fire which broke out in Laperal Compound, Makati City, more than a week ago.

“The Laperal compound billboards will be put down next week,” Tolentino said in a phone interview Sunday.

There are about 90 billboards per kilometer on Edsa, according to the MMDA chair. The bulk of advertising structures can be found in Makati City. The rest are in Mandaluyong, Pasay and Quezon City which is why he sought the cooperation of Mayors Benhur Abalos Jr., Antonino Calixto and Herbert Bautista.

Tolentino said the agency’s engineering team would be backed up by members of the Philippine Institute of Civil Engineers. He added that the inspection would take months, considering the number of billboards to be inspected.

According to the MMDA chair, the most common violations included breaches on structural safety and noncompliance with the rules setting the distance of the billboards from the sidewalk as required by the national building code.

The multi-agency project has the support of the Philippine Association of National Advertisers and Outdoor Advertising Association of the Philippines, Tolentino said.