Renewing the Public Realm

City Hall acts to regulate tarpaulin craze

By admin ⋅ June 18, 2008 ⋅  Email this post ⋅  Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

THE Iloilo City Hall will flex its muscle against the mushrooming of large tarpaulin banners and streamers on display in the city’s main streets to minimize the risks of accidents for motorists.

With the moratorium on billboards, advertisers in the metropolis have apparently shifted to tarpaulin posters.

Promotional posters advertising spas, restaurants, call centers, real estates, and events have become commonplace particularly in the islands of major thoroughfares.

But many do not approve of the beauty posters even as they consider these as “eyesores.”

An anonymous text has been spreading: “The City Government should regulate the ads posted along General Luna Street…”

“The images are distracting. Politicians are not supposed to pose as models considering it’s a conflict of public interest,” commented a lady photojournalist.

In response to the proliferation of these large posters, Mayor Jerry Treñas issued Executive Order 34-2008 June 16 prescribing the proper size of banners and streamers to be displayed on city streets.

Treñas also banned the posting of promotional posters in road islands and traffic sign posts.

“Huge streamers often distract motorists and could cause dangers to both pedestrians and drivers,” he explained.

Under the rule, the maximum size allowed to be hung along the streets should be 3×7 feet for banners and 3×9 feet for streamers.

The mayor instructed the Permit and License Division to ensure that no permit is to be issued for banners and streamers violating the prescribed size requirements and those illegally posted should be immediately removed.

Jeehan Fernandez, The Daily Guardian