Question & AnswerQ&A (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 165)
Executive Order No. 165 covers all non-mobile advertising signs and billboards, including their support structures, that are erected, installed, modified, retrofitted, rehabilitated, or otherwise altered and thereafter exhibited.
Newly constructed billboard structures must have at least five (5) meters of setback from the frontage property line, measured perpendicularly up to the support structure.
Signs and billboards shall not exceed two hundred fifty (250) square meters in display surface size.
Free-standing billboard structures shall have a maximum height of thirty-six (36) meters from the established grade. Roof-mounted billboards have a combined height limit of not more than twenty-six (26) meters for urban areas and not more than thirty-six (36) meters for rural areas, measured from the ground to the established grade.
New rooftop billboards shall not exceed or occupy more than one-fourth (1/4) of the street frontage of the building on which they are attached, the base area of their support structure not more than ten (10) square meters on any horizontal section, and must be constructed of incombustible material.
New billboard structures must be at least one hundred (100) meters apart on the same side of the road.
Obstruction of an existing billboard's intended viewership by a newly constructed billboard, whether partial or full, is strictly prohibited. An existing billboard is considered unobstructed if it is fully visible within two hundred (200) meters from its intended audience.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is responsible for streamlining and establishing an online platform for permitting and licensing applications and procedures for advertising signs and billboards.
The processing time for local permits or licenses of a new sign or billboard shall not exceed seven (7) working days from the date a complete application or request was received.
LGUs are enjoined to enact ordinances supplementing national regulations, particularly on non-obstruction of natural landscapes, prohibition of signs that offend cultural or aesthetic values, establishing restricted areas or traffic hazard zones, and creating billboard-free zones such as historical sites, tourist destinations, parks, institutional establishments, and critical facilities.
Pursuant to Section 306 of the Building Code, the Building Official may order the non-issuance, suspension, or revocation of building permits in case of non-compliance with EO No. 165 or related regulations.
The DPWH enforces the Order; the Department of Finance prepares guidelines on local fees and assists LGUs; the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) assists with LGU compliance; and other government agencies provide necessary support.
LED and other electronic signs must have a minimum display area of fifty-five (55) square meters and may have a maximum display area of up to two hundred fifty (250) square meters as site conditions allow, complying with structural and wind load standards.
Local governments shall not impose requirements that are higher or more burdensome than the parameters provided in the Order, thus harmonizing national and local standards on signs and billboards.
The Order takes effect immediately after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.