DPWH dismantles 3 more billboards

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) continued yesterday its campaign against illegal billboards and dismantled three more unsafe commercial displays in Metro Manila.

The DPWH tore down the billboards of Chowking located along Mabini Street, Caloocan City; Rough Rider Jeans along Quezon Avenue, Quezon City; and R.A. Gapuz Engineering and Nursing Review Center along Morayta Street in Sampaloc, Manila.

“The projections of these billboards are not proper and situated along the road right of way. They will cause danger to the people, like this structure in Morayta, which is hazardous to students,” said DPWH director Emmanuel Cuntapay, head of National Building Code Development Office.

Cuntapay said the removal of billboards will continue until the billboard owners comply with government regulations.

 “The additional instruction of Secretary (Hermogenes) Ebdane is to remove all abandoned and defective structures along national road,” he told reporters who covered the dismantling operations.

Cuntapay said the dismantled billboards also had no permits, inadequate welds and bolts connections, were improperly maintained, located in residential area, had inadequate clearance from power lines, do not rest on the columns of the main building and their structural members were inadequately spliced.

The DPWH resumed its campaign against unsafe and illegal billboards last Jan. 17 and dismantled signages at the sides of the Metro Rail Transit line along EDSA.

The DPWH has inspected 19,116 illegal billboards nationwide and dismantled 15,002. In Metro Manila, the department has taken down 4,631 out of the 6,644 illegal billboards inspected. District engineers are currently in the process of reassessing billboards along the South Luzon Expressway and validating permits of structures along the North Luzon Expressway.  – Edu Punay