These are tough times we live in. So is the MMDA’s job. The agency has again reminded the public that along with illegal parking and obstruction (via sidewalk parking or illegal vendor stalls), posting of business ads and banners on government property such as light and electrical posts, footbridges, and overpasses is illegal.
As tough as the times go, more “enterprising” individuals have resorted to holding their businesses along sidewalks and side streets, complete with signages. Such is the case that you’ll see in this article.
MMDA catches makeshift carwash – complete with “signage” – along busy street sidewalk
There is no sponsorship, solicitation, or advertisement that the MMDA deems legal for businesses. About a day ago, MMDA Task Force Special Operations headed by Col. Edison “Bong” Nebrija spotted a makeshift carwash along the side of a road. What’s more “impressive” is that it has its own signage (albeit crudely made), a water pump and sprayers, its own electrical line, a CCTV, and a coin slot to collect payments!
Photo: Gadget Addict
It didn’t take long for the folks in blue to dismantle the entire operation, though. As seen in the video originally posted by Gadget Addict (thank you so much for documenting these, good sir!) and shared by Nebirja on his social media page, there’s no way that this was allowed without the approval of the Barangay or someone high-up.
What seemed to be the owner of the entrepreneurial effort was later seen on cam and asked who the approval came from and if it has a permit. No clear answer was given with regard to who allowed it, but it seems that it does not have a permit to operate. Aside from that, the man in the video said that this was and can be seen by the Barangay and yet he is not being accosted.
Photo: Gadget Addict
Clearly, there’s a lapse here – a great one – and while understanding people’s needs to earn some coin, they should always be done the right way. Aside from the absence of a permit for a business that should not have been allowed at all, the car wash signage is probably the icing on the cake. Or one of its edible flowers if we’re really going to count how many things laws and regulations and ordinances have been broken here.
Photo: MMDA
Ultimately, no business and their ads thereof are allowed to be posted on government property. We can see a lot in every city that the MMDA covers, and they already have their work cut out for them. Big or small, the law is the law, and everyone is expected to comply, especially if there are real and legal ways that businesses can advertise themselves to the public.
Besides, we wouldn’t want to miss a No Entry sign and get caught for counterflowing because some restaurant’s or government official’s face was plastered on top of the warning, right?
