EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
Senate
of tlje fetcretarp
First Regular Session
20 MAY-4
SENATE
RECEIVED BY:
Introduced by SENATOR JOEL VILLANUEVA
AN ACT PROHIBITING THE ACTIVE USE AND DISPLAY OF 
COMMERCIAL BILLBOARDS DURING TYPHOONS
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Billboards are effective and efficient means of advertising, as well as a suitable 
means of income for advertising agencies and property lessors. In the Philippines 
alone, an ad account for a single billboard can earn as much as over half a million 
pesos a month, and can reach over 4.5 million potential consumers a day in busy 
thoroughfares like EDSA.1 However, this economic activity has had its own share of 
risks. In 2005, the tarpaulin of a billboard in the vicinity of Cubao got snagged onto an 
MRT power cable, and caused an eight-hour interruption. In 2006, due to a typhoon, 
a billboard at the corner of Boni Avenue and EDSA destroyed Meralco wires and 
caused a power outage in the immediate vicinity.2 In 2008, heavy rains caused a 
billboard along EDSA to topple and injure four people, including a senior citizen, and 
damage three vehicles.3 In 2019, a billboard in Divisoria made out of substandard steel 
angle bars collapsed after strong winds and injured two people.4
The safety hazards caused by billboards evoked government response, albeit 
in a very limited capacity. In 2006, there was a plan to dismantle all billboards along 
EDSA pursuant to Administrative Order No. 160 issued by the President. However, 
after more than 10 years since its issuance, major thoroughfares in Metro Manila, such 
as EDSA, are still saturated with billboards.
1 2005, November 2. Battle of the billboards. Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. Available at 
https://old.pcij.org/stories/battle-of-the-biliboards/ (date last accessed: April 20, 2020).
2 
2006, August 21. Billboard collapses on EDSA. Philippine Star. Available at 
https://www.philstar.eom/metro/2006/08/21/353963/biliboard-coilapses-edsa (date last accessed; April 20, 2020).
3 2008, October 14. Billboard on EDSA falls, injures 4. ABS-CBN News. Available at https://news.abs- 
cbn.eom/nation/metro-manila/10/13/08/billboard-edsa-falis-injures-4 (date last accessed: April 20, 2020).
4 2019, September 9. DTI, Mia LGU urged to stop sale of substandard steel bars. Philippine Star. Available at 
https://www.philstar.com/business/2019/09/09/1950186/dti-mla-lgu-urged-stop-sale-substandard-steel-bars (date 
iast accessed: April 20, 2020).


While a total ban on billboards would be economically unfeasible given the 
amount of revenue and jobs that it generates, especially in the advertising field, a step 
forward in the regulation of billboards is the prohibition on its active use during a 
calamity or severe weather disturbance. In line with this, this bill aims to prevent 
billboards from becoming a safety hazard by requiring billboard operators to take down 
their tarpaulin billboards, or switch off electronic-based billboards within 12 hours from 
an official announcement of Typhoon Signal No. 1 in the locality.
The immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought.
SENATORaJOEL VILLANUEVA


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
First Regular Session
Senate
(SKice of t^{ feccct’ffU'u
20 MAY -
SENATE
1463
S. B. NO.
Introduced by SENATOR JOEL VILLANUEVA
AN ACT PROHIBITING THE ACTIVE USE AND DISPLAY OF 
COMMERCIAL BILLBOARDS DURING TYPHOONS
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
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SECTION 1, Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Billboard Prohibition during 
Typhoons Act.”
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the policy of the State to mitigate the risk of 
billboards during typhoons. For this purpose, the operation of billboards during 
weather disturbances shall be strictly prohibited as a public safety measure for the 
safety of motorists and pedestrians.
SEC. 3. Prohibition on the Active Use of Billboards During Typhoons. - All
advertising materials shall be automatically taken down by the billboard operator within 
12 hours from an official announcement and/or release of a Typhoon Signal No. 1 
bulletin, or any other significant weather disturbance by the Philippine Atmospheric, 
Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA). This prohibition 
shall be in effect for the duration of the weather disturbance. For this purpose, contents 
on tarpaulin-based billboards shall be taken down, while electronic-based billboards 
shall be switched off during this period.
SEC. 4. Penal Clause. - Any billboard operator or person who shall violate the 
provisions of this Act shall be subject to a fine of not less than three hundred thousand 
Pesos (Php300,000), or imprisonment of not less than six months but not more than 
one year, upon the discretion of the court.
SEC. 5. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The Department of Public Works 
and Highway (DPWH) in consultation with the Metro Manila Development Authority 
and other metropolitan councils and other relevant agencies shall promulgate and


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issue the implementing rules and regulations of this Act within sixty (60) days from the 
effectivity thereof.
SEC. 6. Repealing Clause. - All law, executive orders, rules and regulations or any 
part thereof inconsistent herewith are deemed repealed or modified accordingly.
SEC. 7. Separability Clause. - If any part or provision of this Act shall be declared 
unconstitutional or invalid, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise 
affected shall remain valid and subsisting.
SEC. 8. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days its publication in the 
Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation, whichever 
comes earlier.
Approved,