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| ON THE OTHER HAND |
| Billboard Jungle By Antonio C. Abaya Written April 27, 2005 For the Philippines Free Press, May 07 issue In the 1950s, a film by director Richard Brooks titled Blackboard Jungle, based on the novel by Evan Hunter, woke up many middle-class Americans to the deterioration of their inner-city schools and led to efforts to reform the big-city slums of America. In 2005, Metro Manila may be said to have been swallowed up by an insidious billboard jungle, like some latter-day Angkor Wat whose once stately presence could no longer be discerned behind an invasive and omnipresent fa�ade of commercial billboards. Indeed we, the harassed residents of this ever fair and loyal metropolis, are caught in a squeeze between the demands of commerce for more and ever more advertising space to goad us to buy, buy buy��.and the need for beauty and serenity and calm in our surroundings to cushion the daily shocks of our frenetic urban existence. And the winner is and has been, was there ever any doubt? the two-dimensional hucksters of commerce, the hydra-headed monsters of capitalism run amok. Surely, we have reached saturation point and the time is ripe for all parties involved � the advertising people, the metro government, and the residents-consumers of Metro Manila � to sit down together and draw up some rules to reform the billboard jungle. This is a situation that seems to be unique to this country: the commercialization of every square meter of open space, including the air space above it. You do not find this in Kuala Lumpur or Jakarta where, for example, the roads from the airports to the city centers are not defaced with giant billboards, at least not during the times that I was there. Nor do you see it in Hong Kong, along the expressway from the new airport to Kowloon, nor in Taipeh either. Nor in Tokyo, where garish neon signs proliferate in the downtown areas, giving its nightlife a certain frenzied edge, but where billboards are specifically and pointedly prohibited from defacing such vistas as parks, lagoons, and even the confluence of ribbons of highways. Singapore is the epitome of the supremacy of urban aesthetics over commercialism, where every square meter of open space is turned into a garden with manicured lawn, leafy trees and flowering plants, instead of being prostituted into another cheap and vulgar pulpit for brash commercialism. Obviously in all these places, there are rules under which billboards are allowed and not allowed in certain places. Metro Manila seems to be the exception, where total anarchy reigns supreme, where rules for the location of billboards, if they exist at all, are routinely ignored and bypassed, in favor of unfettered commercialization of the urban landscape. Why so? Is it because our city officials are being bribed by the hucksters to look the other way when they put up yet another altar to Mammon? Is it because the people of Metro Manila have become so desensitized to the rampant uglification of their surroundings that they no longer notice or care if another ugly billboard sprouts up in front of their house or office or along the routes of their daily commutes? It is time for all parties concerned to sit down and talk and agree to some rules of engagement in the putting up of billboards, preferably with some professional inputs from the most successful urban planners in the region (some of the best of whom are Filipinos) and from the most effective urban regulators (such as Singapore and Hong Kong), to save Metro Manila from being swallowed further by the billboard jungle. And while they�re at it, professional urban planners and landscape architects should also be engaged to advise MMDA Chair Bayani Fernando on the most aesthetically pleasing shapes and colors for urban structures. For example, pink should be used only for gay bars and little girls� playrooms, not for public facilities and road signage. Ditto for Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, who did an excellent job paving and lighting up the Roxas Boulevard seaside walk, but then ruined everything by allowing jerry-built eateries of nondescript and abominable designs to clutter up the promenade. Urban design cannot and should not be left in the hands of rank amateurs in the bureaucracy who have the aesthetic sophistication of drunken gorillas. ***** Reactions to [email protected] or fax 824-7642. Other articles in www.tapatt.org OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO |
| Reactions to �Billboard Jungle� The billboard jungles are there because of money. A good amount is paid to the roof owners who agree to the billboards. We cannot blame them. I agree that our highways are infested with these billboards but any Filipino who will be paid for a display will grab it. Give the job to professional urban planners and maybe we would have a more pleasant scenery. Just make sure they are professional. By the way, can someone repaint the "PINK" public toilets, etc that Fernando introduced? Fernando is just making many citizens angry.... No class. Marilu C. Soriano, [email protected] May 02, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, I would like to comment that Bayani Fernando's choice to use pink could not have been better. Pink is a calming color and it is one color that may well buff the chaotic and polluted environment we live in. Pink has been scientifically proven to appease anger and e v e n NEUTRALIZE EVIL .... which we have plenty of these days. Impy Pilapil, [email protected] May 02, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Dear Mr. Abaya, I thought all the while the advertising industry is in the doldrums. Apparently, it's not, particularly for outdoor advertising which is wreaking havoc and uglifying the urban landscape. What's with these people, don't they have a sense of aesthetics? Do they have the right to blight the landscape? Are the citizens that helpless ? As for the color pink, maybe it's the favorite of Mr. Bayani. But it looks too tacky for me. If he wants high color visibility, he has to get rid of pink. Empirical studies conducted by researchers, showed that yellow, followed by orange and then red ranks the highest. But other than Mr Bayani's color preference, I approve his no-holds- barred approach in running the MMDA. The guy has balls. It's high time Mr. Bayani aims his guns on these ugly billboards. Rip them all out ! Auggie Surtida, [email protected] Iloilo, May 02, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww It is nice to hear a voice in the wilderness singing the lament of the silent majority who are too busy making a living to support families to have the time to speak out. Re billboards defacing the city. Thanks. Sylvia L. Sangco, [email protected] Managing Director, Philscan Travel & Tours Inc. May 03, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww (Copy furnished) To [email protected]) Subject: Billboard Jungle Beautifully written article by Tony Abaya! Something good should come out of it if we all support it by echoing the message to our elected officials who can still think beyond money in their bank accounts! We too can assist by boycotting products peddled by insensitive and offensive ads specially those that continue to ruin our landscape. This is very doable and it hits where it hurts. It's high time our businessmen are reminded about Corporate Social Responsibility. It's about time! LET'S DO IT!!! Mabuhay Philippines! E. J. T. Tirona, [email protected] May 03, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Hi Tony, Thank you very much for this article. It's really gone too far. It's ugly and impairs road safety. Any idea who could initiate a move to controlling/curtailing the proliferation of these billboards? If we knew who, maybe we can put a little pressure on him/her. Regards, Gus Lagman, [email protected] May 03, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Tony, I complained to Mayor Jojo Binay about some of the ugly, glaring signage on Ayala Avenue and the next day, the signs were modified..Ii told him about the other streets in cities I had lived in- 5th avenue, Burlingame Avenue near Hillsborough, Calif, etc, which had an architectural design board approving all signage, construction design, etc BEFORE THE SIGNS or restos are put up...We should get NOT ONLY MMDA, but also the mayors and their city hall planners involved...I will gladly volunteer my time if such a group is created. I live on Ayala Avenue when in Manila, and of course , I have a lot of interest in preserving the beauty of our streets AND cities.. Cita Abad Dinglasan, [email protected] Rome, Italy, May 04 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww My Dear Abaya, I am sitting in Vancouver, Canada at this very moment. I do not know Manila very well, so I can only imagine the chaos of Billboards that you describe. You have said just about all there is to say about it. I have no words of wisdom. Through the years all the countries you mentioned have each had to control the Billboard Pest. Most have succeeded. The rules here in Canada are probably the most strict of all. The US is a bit more lax. The Philippines is very vulnerable to total collapse if it does not start to realize that all the countries, in all the rest of the world (except Africa, which is also beyond repair) have had to deal with and correct similar common problems, billboards being one of the easier ones to fix. The long term alternative, which is not very attractive. Hiding our head in the sand does not help because problems never go away, all they do is become other, even more complex problems. Problems that are very easy to fix in the beginning eventually become so complex they are beyond resolution. I wish I knew the answers. Graham Reinders, [email protected] Vancouver, Canada, May 04, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww .....You're right ...again, Mr. ACA...Thanks. Tinine Bautista, [email protected] May 05, 2005 wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww Excellent commentary, Mr. Abaya!!! But alas, as with many things, so little seems to be listened to these days - and in days past. It has been 30 years of constant frustration in the Philippines.... If crass commercialism is a sign of progress, then we have progressed. But it isn't - There is so little quality, so little vision and so little real development. Dondi Joseph, [email protected] May 06, 2005 OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. |