Billboard industry contributes to gov’t income – Suan

“NAAY benepisyo gihatag ang billboard industry sa atong syudad pero walay kapalit nga serbisyo nga gipangayo.”

This was pointed out by Councilor Lordan G. Suan during the meeting of the City Council committee of the whole yesterday presided over by Councilor Romeo V. Calizo relative to the special report of Councilor John Michael L. Seno on illegal billboards in

the city.

Suan said the billboard industry is contributing to taxes and income of the city government and to the national government without asking for any service or favor except for the issuance of the building permits.

“Sa ato pa unsa may kadaut nga gihatag sa billboards sa mga tawo? Gitukod ba na sa yuta sa gobyerno? Kung walay building permit, the logical thing to do, which is what other cities have done, would be to help them get building permits so that they will continue to bring these benefits to our city,” he further pointed out.

With regards to safety, these billboards have certificates of structural integrity issued by engineers attesting that these structures are not ruinous and/or dangerous, Suan added.

“So unsa may diperensya sa billboards ug building, they are both certified by professionals. So dili na lang ta magtukod og bridges kay simbako maglinog, di na lang ta magtukod og buildings kay simbako mahugno. But we can see billboards are only for commerce, buildings are also for commerce, are they not? That is why we have engineers to check these man-made structures, buildings, billboards, whatever,” he further clarified.

Suan recommended the creation of an adhoc committee that will conduct an inventory of billboards and submit the same to the City Council with the proposed procedures and taxes for billboard permit applications in compliance with the ease of doing business

law.

“So in time, the logical thing to do would be to help these billboards get permits so that we can continue to reap the benefits that they bring. We are also in a pandemic and at ECQ at that, it would be best for the city and the private sector, the business sector and the local government work together,” the councilor opined.