The Uphill Battle to Sweep Away Yogyakarta's Visual Litter: Illegal Billboards Remain Unabated

Spanduk, banner, rontek, and illegal billboards remain a common sight across various corners of Yogyakarta City. Although enforcement operations continue, similar violations keep recurring, making the effort to clean up visual litter in Yogyakarta a task that is never truly finished. This is the landscape faced by the Yogyakarta City Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) in its bid to make the city’s appearance more orderly, comfortable, and aesthetically pleasing. “The Yogyakarta City Satpol PP fully supports the Mayor’s policy in an effort to create a more orderly, comfortable, and aesthetic Yogyakarta City through the reduction of visual litter,” said Head of Yogyakarta City Satpol PP, Octo Noor Arafat. Octo explained that enforcement is carried out against various forms of promotional media, ranging from billboards, rontek, spanduk, banners, pennants, flags, to other promotional media that violate Yogyakarta City Regional Regulation Number 6 of 2022 concerning the Organisation of Advertising. Beyond field enforcement, Octo said that Satpol PP is also strengthening coordination with relevant regional apparatus organisations (OPD), especially those overseeing licensing, spatial planning, and regional revenue, so that supervision can be integrated. “In addition to enforcement, Satpol PP is also strengthening coordination and synergy with related OPDs, particularly regional apparatuses overseeing licensing, spatial planning, and regional revenue, so that supervision can be carried out in an integrated and sustainable manner,” he said. Octo revealed that Satpol PP Yogyakarta City data shows that from January to June 2026, enforcement was carried out against 2,623 non-permanent promotional media. This total consists of various types of spanduk, banners, billboards, rontek, and other promotional media. “From January to June 2026, the Yogyakarta City Satpol PP has carried out enforcement against 2,623 units/media of incidental advertising visual litter consisting of billboards, advertisements, spanduk, banners, and other promotional media,” he explained. “Meanwhile, for permanent advertising, Satpol PP has dismantled 8 units of billboards,” he added. On average, around 400 non-permanent advertisements are removed each month. Items seized during enforcement are then stored in the Yogyakarta City Satpol PP Confiscated Goods Warehouse. “Per month, 400 non-permanent advertisements (spanduk, rontek, pennants). The results of the enforcement are stored in the Satpol PP Confiscated Goods Warehouse,” he said. From the supervision results, Octo revealed that the most frequently found violations are the installation of banners, rontek, and spanduk without permits. In addition, many promotional media are installed in prohibited locations such as on trees, electricity poles, traffic signs, public facilities, and even stretched across roadways. “The most frequently found violations include spanduk and banners installed on trees, electricity poles, traffic signs, stretched across the middle of the road, and on public facilities,” he stated. Satpol PP also often finds advertisements whose permits have expired but have not yet been dismantled. Furthermore, there are instances of billboards being installed at points not in accordance with the permitted locations. “Promotional media installed without a permit or not in accordance with licensing provisions. Billboards whose permit period has ended but have not yet been dismantled, as well as the installation of billboards not in accordance with the permitted points or locations, are also still found,” said Octo. To curb violations, Satpol PP is taking a number of steps, ranging from mapping hotspots for illegal advertising installation, routine patrols, integrated enforcement operations, to issuing warnings to violators. “The steps taken by the Yogyakarta City Satpol PP include mapping and inventorying points that become locations for visual litter installation, routine patrols and integrated enforcement operations throughout the city area, as well as issuing reprimands and warnings to owners or installers of violating advertisements,” he stated. As for law enforcement, Octo mentioned that violators can be subject to sanctions through a pro justitia mechanism or minor offence court hearings. “Pro justitia sanctions, we bring them to court,” he concluded.