Bayani Fernando posters pulled down in Makati

MANILA, Philippines - Tarpaulins of Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Bayani Fernando were pulled down Thursday in several areas in Makati City. The move came a day after Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay asked Fernando, who had earlier announced that he would be the country's next president, to remove the posters which are widely considered to be political ads. Radio dzBB's Lito Laparan reported that the 29 tarpaulins removed were from the stretch between the city's Guadalupe and Magallanes areas. Joey Salgado of City Hall's information office said they are not afraid of any retaliatory move from Fernando, noting the MMDA had taken down commercial billboards some months back, without the owners' permission. He said the city government will keep the tarpaulins for safekeeping. Fernando's tarpaulin ads are posted all over Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA), a major road artery that connects several metropolitan cities. The ads bear his picture and the message "Kaayusan, Pagbabago sa Kapaligiran, Pagbabago sa Kaisipan." At the bottom of the poster is a statement saying that it is government property and possessing it was punishable by law. Earlier, Binay had asked Fernando to remove the latter's posters along EDSA in Makati as soon as possible. Binay had also threatened to personally remove the posters. This was the second attack against Fernando tarpaulins. On Wednesday, authorities saw three persons vandalizing posters of Fernando in Mandaluyong City before dawn. Radio dzBB's Roland Bola reported, however, that the three vandals, two men and a woman, managed to evade MMDA personnel. Initial reports said the three smeared what appeared to be black ink over a poster of Fernando. The suspects scrawled "KDMY ... Berdugo (Executioner)" over the poster message. The incident took place near the Starmall crossing in Mandaluyong City. - GMANews.TV