Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. _7412

Introduced by CIBAC Party-List Representatives
EDUARDO “BRO. EDDIE” C. VILLANUEVA and DOMINGO C. RIVERA

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.* 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. In 2008, heavy rains caused a
billboard along EDSA to topple and injure four people, including a senior citizen, and
damage three vehicles. In 2019, a billboard in Divisoria made out of substandard steel
angle bars collapsed after strong winds and injured two people.*

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

* 2005, November 2. Battle of the billboards. Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. Available at
https://old.paij.org/stories/battle-of-the-billboards/ (date last accessed: April 20, 2020),

2 "2006, ‘August 21. Billboard collapses on EDSA. Philippine Star. Available _at
https://wavw.philstar.com/metro/2006/08/21/353963/billboard-collapses-edsa (date last accessed: April 20, 2020).
3 2008, October 14. Billboard on EDSA falls, injures 4. ABS-CBN News, Available at https:/inews.abs-
cbn.com/nation/metro-manila/10/13/08/billboard-edsa-falls-injures-4 (date last accessed: April 20, 2020).

+2019, September 9. DTI, Mla LGU urged to stop sale of substandard steel bars. Philippine Star. Available at
hhttps:/www. philstar. com/business/20119/09/09/1950186/cti-mla-Igu-urged-stop-sale-substandard-steel-bars (date
last accessed: April 20, 2020).


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.

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.

ue
HON. EDUARDO “BRO-EDBIE” C-VILLANUEVA

Hi 50°C. RIVERA


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 7412

Introduced by CIBAC Party-List Representatives
EDUARDO “BRO. EDDIE” C. VILLANUEVA and DOMINGO C. RIVERA

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:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shalll 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


Semi MHawne

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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
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,