The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) removed at least 37 billboards along national roads recently, including that of heartthrob Piolo Pascual.

Pascual’s billboard shows him half-naked, making a pitch for a coffee brand.

DPWH assistant director Armando Estrella denied that their move was a moral offensive, only that they prioritized “those that display lewd pictures or designs.”

“This is according to the orders of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and DPWH Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr,” he said. “Our task is to go after billboards that have no permits, those constructed within the right-of-way, those that were assessed to be structurally deficient and unsafe, and those constructed near electrical and telephone wires.”

He said that Pascual’s billboard is covered by the directive because it may be “hazardous” in that they “distract” motorists.

Estrella added that a number of advertisers decided to pull down their billboard tarpaulins themselves because they may have been “conscience-stricken.”

“They realized that many people were against indecent and immoral billboards. They feared the backlash would affect the products they were endorsing,” he said.

Of the 37 billboards removed over the weekend, 20 were dismantled voluntarily by their owners, and five were pulled down by DPWH.

Some display owners asked for more time to remove their ads, Estrella said.

Manila Bulletin Online tried to reach officials of the Outdoor Advertising Association of the Philippines, but they have not returned our calls or text messages as of press time.

A few weeks ago, Bishop Nilo Tayag of the Iglesia Catolica Filipina Independiente asked the public to consider boycotting the products of advertisers displaying “sexy billboards” for being “insensitive to the moral sensitivities of Filipinos, especially women and children.”

However, Estrella cautioned people against doing so, saying to leave the matter to DPWH.

It was not made clear which government agency or private body was in charge of ad content  —or if there is even one.

Earlier, the DPWH’s National Building Code Development Office (NBCDO) said that 90 percent of the 2,000 billboards along EDSA were found to have allegedly violated the provisions of the law, with many being constructed near electric and telephone lines.

The aftermath of the destructive typhoon “Milenyo” in 2006, saw the collapse of several billboards, resulting in the death and injury of motorists and pedestrians.