CEBU CITY, Philippines — The sight of unlighted lampposts is now common at the South Road Properties (SRP) in Cebu City.
This is because of the loss of electric wires to thieves who cut these off and sell these as scraps.
John Jigo Dacua, head of the Department of Government Services (DGS) at City Hall, said there is now a need to shift to the use of overhead power lines to keep roads at the SRP lighted at night and prevent accidents from happening.
According to the city’s Public Information Office, the concern on the SRP lampposts was discussed in a recent meeting which Dacua attended with other department heads at the conference room of the Office of the Mayor.
“Pirmi pangkawaton ang mga lamppost wirings dinhi maong dili na mangsiga maong ngitngit kaayo, ug naay uban suga nag-malfunction,” he said.
In the same meeting, PIO said, Dacua mentioned of his plan to also meet with the management of a casino and resort that is operating at the SRP and officials of the the Cebu Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) officials next week to ask these businesses to help secure lampposts that are located within their area to discourage pilferage.
Dacua also said he, earlier, met with representatives from the Visayan Electric Company (VECO), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DWPH-7) and the SRP-Management Office (SRP-MO) to discuss the matter and identify possible solutions to this problem.
Malou Rama, who presided the said meeting, welcomed Dacua’s suggestion to consider the use of overhead power lines to light SRP lampposts.
“Nindot sab ni siya na idea because i know nga mura’g ongoing ang pag-underground sa wirings diha. And while ongoing pa na, mao sa ni atong immediate solution para hayag pirmi ang SRP,” said Malou, wife of the Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama and in-charge of the implementation of the city’s beautification programs.
SPR Management Office head Roberto “Bo” Varquez, for his part, said blue guards will now be stationed at the SRP starting October 1.
“Nagka istorya na mi. Naa nay mga security guards sa SRP para motabang og bantay ana nila,” Varquez said.
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