Metro Pink Panget

Metro in pink irks left-wing solons

House probe sought
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/metro/view/20090105-181421/Metro-in-pink-irks-left-wing-solons



MANILA, Philippines—For these “Reds,” Metro Manila hardly looks pretty in pink.

A group of left-leaning lawmakers wants the House of Representatives to investigate—in aid of legislation—the use by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) of bright pink as standard color for road signs and structures.

The group says the pink signs and structures not only mar the urban landscape but also violate local and international safety regulations.

“[They] are, at best, eyesores that worsen the visual blight plaguing Metro Manila,” according to a resolution filed last month by Bayan Muna Representatives Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casiño; Gabriela Representatives Liza Maza and Luzviminda Ilagan; and Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano.

MMDA Chair Bayani Fernando, however, is standing by his motif, saying the national capital’s “drab environment” can use a rosy accent here and there.

BF's poor attempt at humor. drab environment! mas pinapanget nga ni BF ang metro manila dahil sa mga posters nya. dagdag mo na dyan yung mga pink sinks nya.

He maintains there is no “ban” on the use of pink for such public structures.

The lawmakers describe the pink signs and structures as nuisances that “offend the senses” and are prohibited under the Civil Code.

The group also argues that Fernando’s choice of color violates the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals and similar international agreements in which the Philippines is a signatory.

The convention, the lawmakers say, specifies white, yellow, red, black, blue, green, orange and gray as internationally accepted colors for road signs, road markings and traffic lights. It also sets a standard size and shape for particular types of traffic signs, the lawmakers add.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_sign
http://www.lto.gov.ph/traffic1.html

Nuisance defined

The agreement, forged in 1968, took effect on June 6, 1978.

The lawmakers say the MMDA traffic signs violate the country’s own Civil Code, which defines public nuisances as “any act, omission, establishment, condition of property, or anything (which) annoys or offends the senses.”

hindi lang mga pink signs ang nakaka offend. pati ito o nakaka offend



Under the code, public nuisances can be the subject of a court case or a claim for damages.

Administrative Order No. 160-A, based on the National Building Code, also bans billboards and signboards that defile, debase or offend the aesthetic and cultural values and traditions of the Filipino people, according to the lawmakers.

sama nyo na rin dyan yung mga posters ng mga politico sa metro manila. lalo na sa quezon city.

The resolution is urging the House committee on Metro Manila development to check whether the use of pink had the approval of the Metro Manila Council—the policy-making body of the MMDA—and how much public funds had been spent for the structures.

‘Help for pedestrians’

Fernando, who had earned both praise and criticism as a no-nonsense, iron-fisted enforcer since becoming MMDA chair in 2002, has early on defended his preference for pink traffic signs, fences, walkways and sidewalk urinals.

mostly criticism. sira ulo na lang ang mag pupuri sa kanya

Reached for comment on the House resolution, Fernando insists that his agency has not violated any Philippine law or international standard. “There is no ban on the use of pink,” he says in Filipino.


“The pink signs are for pedestrians so they can easily [tell] that it’s for them, because most of the signs are for motorists. It’s there to help them,” Fernando says.

check mo ito
" Fluorescent pink signs are sometimes used for incident management warning."

And besides, pink is perfect for the “drab environment”’ of Metro Manila, he says. “It’s different and attractive.”

tado! green ang tamang kulay! lahat ng lungsod sa mundo eh green ang ginagamit para pagandahin ang lugar nila. hindi sa pamamagitan ng pagpintura ng verde kundi sa pagtatanim ng mga puno. dito nga sa metro manila pinagpuputol pa ng mmda yung mga puno tapos yung iba nilalagyan pa ng posters nya.

Pink of health

Fernando says the MMDA has chosen pink for its footbridges, for example, so pedestrians could easily spot them.

paint them in red or in orange to dick!

“I [first] used the color green when I was mayor of Marikina. The pink evolved when the World Health Organization designated Marikina as outstanding healthy city. So we came up with a motto: ‘Marikina, the City in the Pink of Health.’ To dramatize this, we began using pink,” he says.

“It’s the same thing we want for Metro Manila—for it to be in the pink of health.”

cheap political gimick. neknek mo BF. pink ang ginamit ng asawa mo noong election. WHO ka pa dyan. gimik lang yan. si Marcos pula, si cory yellow...
sinasayang pera natin. im sure after mawala na yan sa pwesto si el gwapo mawawala na yang pink signs na yan. kasi pipinturahan yan ng next political appointee na chairman.

The MMDA chair says he welcomes the House investigation and takes it as an opportunity to explain his color preference. “Hopefully, we will also get them to love pink,” he says.