Yoyong: Good and Bad

Typhoon Yoyong was supposed to thrash our country bearing winds of up to 185 kph. Although we see the usual lot of bad things coming out of such disasters (landslides and floods due to overlogged forests, relief goods disappearing before reaching the intended beneficiaries), I discovered one good thing about Yoyong. Manila was rid of billboards, if only for a day.

MMDA asked billboard owners to remove their tarpaulin signs until the storm passed. This was to provide potential damage from billboards crashing. After all, the taut tarpaulin signs are like windsails. Try to imagine how these signs would stand against winds that threatened to reach 185 kph.

What's the good in that? As Data and I drove home along EDSA, a feeling of -- how do I put it -- kaginhawaan came to us. At first I couldn't point out the source but then it became obvious later: there were no massive pictures of over-exposed celebrites and credit cards and softdrinks and jeans and whatever blocking the view of the sky.

It was a cloud-dark sky, but the view was still worth it. I wonder how Manila would look like during clear summer days without the billboards.

Update: read Billboard Hell