The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has questioned the capability of an outdoor advertisers’ group to seek the dismissal of a petition filed by the owners and operators of billboards who are opposed to the agency’s campaign against oversized signs.
In a court filing, the Office of the Solicitor General, which represents the MMDA in the case, said the Outdoor Advertisers Association of the Philippines (OAAP) “is not the real party in interest; hence, its petition is dismissible on the ground of failure to state a valid cause of action.”
“Since [the] petitioner admittedly does not own any outdoor advertising materials or billboards … it is not covered by the provisions of the challenged MMDA circular,” the document said. “It is a mere association of outdoor advertising providers which has a distinct and separate personality of its own.”
The campaign seeks to remove oversized billboards and signages along major thoroughfares which do not conform with standards set by the National Building Code.
The MMDA had previously cited the hazards the structures posed in public areas when there are strong winds.
OAAP, however, said the MMDA should first answer the main petition before seeking to have their complaint dismissed.
“They keep on filing motions, but what they failed to do is to answer the real issue – whether or not they have the authority to pass ordinances and circulars and enforce these,” said OAAP lawyer Victor Eleazar.