Republic of the Phil
HOUSE OF REPRESEN
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

4937

House Bill No.

Introduced by HON, JOSEPH F. VIOLAGO_

Explanatory Note

The profiferation of hazardous billboards of all shapes and sizes along the major thoroughfares of
Metro Manila and other cities and in national highways in the provinces and other areas in local goverment
Units (LGUs) continues due to lack of laws regulating their placement as well as the lack of coordination of
government agencies and local governments in ensuring that these billboards will nat endanger the lives and
weikbeing of our people,

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago aptly described this reality and situation as a “billboard hell’,

Only with the death of some victims as well as the injuries caused by billboards that collapsed during
some recent typhoons have ushered to the fore the urgent imperative to institute measures, as well as the
load uproar following the display of commercialfadrvertisement diliboards showing images of men and women
which, to most, offend our collective and shared representations of decency and long-revered conventional
community standards.

Can the placement of billboards be regulated? Yes, as it is well within the purview of the State under
the police power doctrine and of a long line of cases replete with the recognition that the freedom of the
individual must al times yield and be subordinated to the common welfare starting with the classic case of
Jacobson y. Massachusettes (197 US 11, 1905). Can billboards be prohibited? The answer is also Yes.

In our long years of adherence to the tenets and principles of constitutional democracy and
republicanism, we have come to know that police power is that inherent power to ragulate liberty and property
for the promotion of general welfare. tt is also refered to as the state authoriy fo enact legislaion that may
interfere with personal liberty or property to promate the general welfare. Generally, it consists of an
imposition of restraint upon liberty or property in order to foster the common good in the interest of public
health, public safety, public morals and general wellare. Constitutionalists are of the shared view that itis not
capable of an exact definition but has been purposedly veiled in genera! tems to undersoore its all
comprehensive, vast and pervasive embrace

This proposed initiative embodies most of the original provisions of a legislative initiative filed by
Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago which was unanimously approved by the Senate during the last Congress,
but was not enacted inte law due to the absence of similar initative by the House of Representatives.

In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this measure is eamestiy and vigorously sought.



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

4937

House Bill No.

Introduced by HON. JOSEPH F. VIOLAGO-

AN ACT
REGULATING THE PLACEMENT OF BILLBOARD SIGNS

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Yitle. - This Act shall be known as the “Billboard Regulation Act.”

SEC. 2, Declaration of Policy.—It is the declared policy of the State to protect life, health,
safely and property and to promote the general welfare that are essential for the enjoyment by all its
people, The State shall also ensure to ensure the protection and promotion of the county's sceneries
and environment, as well as the complete non-obstruction of vilal tratiie signs

SEC. 3. Detinition of Terms. - As used in this Act the term:

(1) “Billboard” means an identification, description, illustration, or device which is affixed to or
represented directly or indirectly upon a building, structure, or land and which directs
attention to a product, place, activity, person, institution or business.

(2) “Off-Premise Billboard” means a business billboard which directs the attention of the public
to the business or activity conducted or product or service sold or offered at a focation not un
the same premises where such business sign is located,

(3) “PPWH" means the Department of Public Works and Highways,

(4) “MMDA" means the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.

{5) “DOT™ means the Deparument of Tourism.

SEC. 4. Regulation of Off-Site Signs and Billboards. - Any off-premise sign erected atier the
effective daie of this Act shall comply with the following standards:

(1) No billboard shall be located in a position that obstructs or obscures the view of vehicular or
pedestrian traffic in such a manner as 10 endanger the safe movement thereof.

(2) Lach billboard shall be set back at least twenty-five (25) feet from any road or street right
‘of-way line, measured from the closest part of the billboard.

(3) No billboard shall be located within one thousand (1,000) feet of any interchange, within
one thousand (1,000) tect of any right-of-way of any underpass, overpass. bridge or tunnel,
or within one thousand (1,000) feet of any sircet intersection.

(4) All billboards shall be erected in conformity with the front, side and rear yard requirements
of the district in which they are located.


{5) No billboard shall be erccted within a one thousand (1,000) feet circumference of the nearest
property line of any of the following:

{a) historic site
{b) oo]
{ce} church
{d) hospital
(e) retirement or nursing home
() cemetery
(g) governmental building
¢h) public park
(i) playground
(i) recreation area
(k) convention center
or any area in which billboards are prohibited.

(6) No billboard shall be permitted whenever property zoned as residential would be
between the sign and the roadway toward which it is oriented.

(7) No part or foundation or support of any billboard shall be placed on, in, or over any
private property without the written consent of the property owner.

(8) No part or foundation or support of any billboard shall be placed on, in. or over any
public property, including pul rights-of-way, or any utility or drainage easement, or upon
telephone or utility poles, or natural features such as trees and rocks.

(9) No billboard shall be erected or maintained upon or above the roof of any building
structure.

(0) No billboard shall be constructed on a lot where it obscures or shades the windows or
doorways of adjacent buildings.

(11) No two billboards located upon, or oriented towards traffic traveling upon, the same
side of a public street or road with four (4) or more lanes shall be spaced less than two thousand
(2,000) feet apart; on the same side of public streets or roads with fess than four lanes, the spacing
shail be no less than one thousand (1,000) fect apart. This distance shall be measured along a
straight line berween the two nearest points of the signs. The minimum spacing requirement shall
not apply to two panels viewed fiom different directions which share a common support stricture.
Nor shail any billboard be located within a one thousand foot (1,000 ft.) radius of any other
billboard even though the twe billboards are on different streets.

(12) No billboard shall exceed three hundred square feet (300 sq. ¢.) in total surface display
area.

(13) Billboards may be single-faced or double-faced but no billboard shall contain more than
‘one face on cach side of the display and the surface area shall not exceed a total area of three
hundred square Feet (300 sq. f.) per structure.

(14) No billboard shall be permitted which, because of its size, shape, or location, may
obscure or obstruct the view of vehicular or pedestrian traffic or be confused with any authorized


38 traffic control sign, signal, or device.

(15) No billboard shall be permitted which, because of its size, shape. or location, may
impair any scenic vista &um the highway or a building adjacent o the highway or to the billboard.

(16) No billboard shall exceed fifty (50) feet in height. This distance shall be measured from
ground level al the base of the billboards support system to the highest point of the billboard

(17) No billboard structure shall be built that wi
hundred forty (240) kilometers per hour, and not wit
than seven (7) on the Richter scale.

not withstand wind gusts of less than two
dan earthquake with a magnitude of less

(18) No billboard structure shall be built with an overhang. Al billboard structures shall.
trom the ground up, have the sane size as its base.

SEC. §. Permit Fee and Inventory of Billbourds. -

(1) As of the effective date of this Act, the annual fee for a billboard permit tor a new
construction of a billboard shall be ‘Iwenty Five Thousand Pesos (P 25,000.00),

(2) The DP WH in coordination with the MMA shall use additional revenues resulting trom,
subsection (1) to conduct 2 thorough countrywide inventory of all billboards, including plotting the
exuct location of each sign, determining whether or not each sign has a valid permit from the
DPWH, MMDA and any local government agency charged with regulating billboards,

SEC. 6. Insurance. - No billboard structure shall be erected without a mandatory insurance
coverage, the amount of which is to be jointly determined by he Insurance Commission (IC). Any
insurance policy secured for this purpose must only be procured from reputable private insurance
companies duly licensed and accredited by the IC which are in existence and operational for at least
five (5) years, with a net worth of at least Five Hundred Million Pesos (500,000.00) based on the
audited financial statemnent submitted and approved under the Philippine Financial Reporting
Standards (PFRS), with a current certificate year of authority and with an IC-approved policy

SEC, 7, Enforcement of the Act - It shall be the primary duty of the DPWH to effectively
enforce the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 8 Liability of Officers. - Any ofticer of the duly designated enfiorcement agency who
fails of neglect to enforce the provisions of this act shall be liable administratively and in addition,
shall be fined with no less than twenty thousand pesos (P 50,000.00) and not more than one hundred
thousand pesos (P 100,000.00). The filing of criminal charges against the erring officer is not barred
by this provision.

SEC. 9. Assisting Entities. - in compiling this invemtory mentioned in Section 6, the DPWH
shall cooperate with billboard permit holders, local governments, the MMDA, non-governmental
organizations and citizens groups concemed with scenic conservation and transportation.

SEC. 10. Development of Business Directional Sips. - The DOT is directed to develop,
construct and contract with public and private entities for the construction and maintenance of
official business directional signs in addition to any such signs currently operated by the DOT. The
DOT shall consult with scenic conservation groups, businesses and business organizations, and
jocul governments to facilitate the development of these signs in such a way as to allow businesses


to reach the traveling public without the deleterious impact of billboards on scenery.

SK

ML, Detailed Tasks of the DPWH. The DPW] is hereby tasked to:

1. Conduct field inspection and determine (a) billboards posing imminent danger or threat to
the life, health, safety and property of the public; (b) billboards violating applicable laws,
rules and regulations; (c) billboards constructed within the casement of road right-of-way;
and (d) billboards constructed without the necessary permits. Priority shall be given to
billboards located along major roads in Metro Manila and other cities and other nationel
highways and major thoroughfares as determined by the DPWH,;

v

Upon evaluation and assessment, issue a certification as to those billboards found to be
hazardous and violative of existing standards prescribed by the National Building Code,
Structural Code of the Philippines and other related legal issuances lumishing copy of the
certification to the LGUs concerned which have jurisdiction over the location of the
billboards;

3. Abate and dismantle those billboards, commercial or non-commercial, constructed on
private or public properties found to be falling under any and all grounds enumerated in

paragraph us above:

4. Submit a detailed written report to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to serve as basis for the
possible filing of appropriate administrative, civil or criminal cases;

5. Call upon the Philippine National Police (PNP) to provide assistance in the dismantling of
billboards and other off-site signs declared as covered under the preceding paragraph.

SEC. 12. Assistance by MMDA and L.GUs.—The Metropolitan Manila Development
Authority (MMDA) and/or the concemed LGUs are hereby directed (o give full support and
assistance to the DPWH for the immediate inspection, assessment and abatement of billboards
found t be hazardous and violative of the National Building Code, the Structural Code of the
Philippines and related issuances.

The MMDA and the concerned 1.GUs are directed to submit to DPWH within five (5) days
from effectivity hereof un inventory of all billboards existing in their respective territorial
jurisdiction, whether or not a permit was duly granted for the construction of the same, that have
been the subject of inspection and evaluations.

13. Abatement of Nuisance or Hazardous Billboards.-Upon determination by the
DPWI that a particular billboard found within national highways and major thoroughtares in Metra
Manila and key citics as determined by DPWH is a nuisance or hazardous, it shall abate and
dismantle the same in accordance with the faw,

LGUs ure directed to strictly enforce the laws and regulations on the construction and
maintenance of biltboards, and pursuant to the Local Government Code, declare, prevent or abate
nuisance billboards found within the local roads in their territorial jurisdiction untess the DPWH has
already initiated abatement proceedings against the owner of, or any party having interest in, the
billboard in accordance with the immediately preceding, paragraph.

The abatement and dismantling of nuisance billboards shall be at the expense of the owners
or any party having interest thereof.


SEC, 14, Transitory Provision, - All billboard structures not conforming with the provisions
of itis act shall immediately be disinantled by their owners or corrected accordingly, provided, that
those covered by existing advertising contracts are given two (2) years to novate said comiracts to
conform with the provisions herein, :

SEC. 15 Separability Clause. - if any provisions or part hereof, is invalid or
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain valid
and subsisting.

SEC. 16. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive order,
lever of instruction, administrative order, mule or regulation contrary to or inconsistent with, the
provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified. or amended accordingly.

SEC. 17. Effectivity Clause. - ‘This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication.

Approved,