If Congress continues to suspend the hearings on the proposed Magna Carta for the Billboard Industry, the Philippine outdoor advertising industry stands to lose its competitiveness.

This is the fear expressed by the Billboard Safety Initiative (BSI), a group composed of the country’s top five billboard companies who are members of the Outdoor Advertising Association of the Philippines (OAAP).

Lawyer Oliver San Antonio, BSI spokesman, said that reasonable regulation is urgent since the industry is growing at break-neck speed.

“With the growth of our industry, there is a need for the government to assist us in standardizing some of our practices,” San Antonio said.

He added that the House should resume the congressional hearings on the Magna Carta so that new entrants and old industry players should be guided by regulations.

Without government regulation, it could affect the competitiveness of the industry, considered to be one of the country’s biggest contributors to economic growth, he said.

Recent industry estimated the industry’s volume at close to P2 billion; employing more than 5,000 Filipinos.

The last House public hearing held on the proposed measure was in August 2007. Together with OAAP, the BSI has been working closely with Congress on how to craft a measure that would enhance the competitiveness of the industry.

He  reiterated three things that the industry leaders want changed. First, the industry wants Congress to pass regulations that would promote public safety in billboard infrastructure.

Second, the BSI is urging Congress to include a provision that would prevent clutter from billboards obstructing one another.  Third, the BSI hopes that the Magna Carta would set the standards and limitations for billboard regulation for all government agencies and local government units.

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If Congress continues to suspend the hearings on the proposed Magna Carta for the Billboard Industry, the Philippine outdoor advertising industry stands to lose its competitiveness.