Spaghetti wires eradication relaunch on Aug. 17

Linemen from the Visayan Electric Company (Veco), PLDT and Sky Cable will start clearing dangling wires along J. Panis St. in Barangay Kasambagan as part of the Cebu City government’s program of clearing the streets of unsightly spaghetti wires. Photo above was taken in 2018. | CDN file photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City government will relaunch its spaghetti wires eradication program to fix tangled wires in old poles around the city starting August 17, 2020.

There will be 10 teams from PLDT/Smart/Sun, Globe Telecom, Visayan Electric, Sky Capable, CCTN, Eastern Telecom, Converge, and the city’s Department of Public Services (DPS) to conduct the eradication of spaghetti wires in various streets in the city.

Councilor Jerry Guardo, the council’s chairperson for the committee on infrastructure, said on August 13, 2020, that they had to put aside the project to focus on the pandemic response.

Read: Ordinance banning wooden posts, end ‘spaghetti wires’ in Cebu City pushed

With the easing of the quarantine restrictions under the general community quarantine, the city can now continue programs that are essential in the safety of the public going outside such as the dangers of the spaghetti wires.

Spaghetti wires are entanglements in the communication and electric lines hanging below the recommended level of 20 feet.

The eradication of the spaghetti wires including the replacement of wooden poles with more sturdy cemented poles began in the last quarter of 2019.

“As you know, hugaw kaayo atong wires sa syudad (the wires in our city are messy). It is high time. This is a city-wide campaign program,” said Guardo.

They will be focusing on roads such as the Archbishop Reyes Avenue, Urgello Street, and the streets in Barangay Sambag II.

They will officially relaunch at Urgello Street, which Guardo said had too many spaghetti wires hanging and could pose danger to the cars and pedestrians on the street.

“We will start at Urgello Street kay ang mga wires dinhang dapita halos bisan asa nalang attached. Naghanger, they’re not properly attached to a pole,” said Guardo.

(We will start at Urgello Street because the wires in that area are just attached anywhere. They are hanging and they are not properly attached to a pole.)

Guardo said it would take at least two weeks to clear one street, then they would move to another street.

The 10 teams will be working simultaneously.

The councilor said he was hoping that they would manage to detangle the spaghetti wires in the major thoroughfares in the city by the end of the year./dbs