MMDA to sue owners of billboard that fell in EDSA

The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is set to file charges against the owner of the billboard that fell Sunday onto the roof of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) station at EDSA-Boni Avenue in Mandaluyong City. MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said that the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has mandated that billboards of any size must be mounted 100 meters away from the highway, GMA’s dzBB radio reported. The collapsed steel frame of the billboard, which measured 60 feet by 40 feet, hung over the southbound lanes of EDSA near the corner of Boni Avenue, with one end at the top of Roscar Building where it was installed and the other on the roof of the MRT station in the area. It fell at 4:20 am. on Sunday and was cleared only at 11 p.m. Fernando added that although permits have been granted for the putting up of billboards, the government must keep a close watch on their construction to avoid any untoward incidents. It damaged the roof of the MRT station and also hit an electric post that caused a power outage in the area for a few hours. The incident aso caused massive traffic jams along the south-bound lanes of EDSA. The Mandaluyong City engineer’s office will also call the attention of the billboard owner on Tuesday to answer questions in regard to its installation. Officials said they didn’t notice any violations when a company secured a permit to put up the billboard but added that they were not aware if changes were made when it was installed. -GMANews.TV