Utility firms ‘insensitive’, need to fix dangling wires

THE Cebu City Council called on the Visayan Electric Co. (Veco) and the Philippine Long Distance Co. (PLDT) to submit proposals to resolve the problem of dangling overhead wires in the city.

The call came in the aftermath of the July 7 accident where a PLDT  post in barangay Tinago fell, killing  13-year-old Ralph Bureros and injuring two other children wh o were waiting near a barbecue stall.

“The granting of a franchise to our utility providers is  imbued with public welfare as its main responsibility. The incident is (an example of the) insensitivity and negligence of our utility providers towards the public,” Councilor Nestor Archival said in a privilege speech. He spoke during an offsite council session at the sports complex of barangay Talamban.

Archival cited newspaper reports quoting Tinago barangay chairman Joel Garganera asking Veco aid to secure dangling wires.

Garganera’s request came after a motorcyclist was entangled by dangling wires in barangay Tinago.

The barangay chairman said a Veco contractor who checked the area said the wires were not owned by Veco so they refused to fix it.

“Ralph’s future is cut short, he could have been a doctor, a teacher or a public servant but we will never know now,” said Archival, who chairs the council’s public utilities committee.

The council passed several resolutions proposed by Archival. They asked the t mayor’s office to revive the  Utility Lines Installation Coordinating Committee (ULICC) created by City Ordinance

No. 1894 to solve  urban eyesores like overhead spaghetti wires.

“Fourteen years after the enactment of the  ordinance, the city is still facing the problem of dangling wires that pose hazards to the life and property of our residents,” Archival said.

Assess

The council set an exectuive session on August 5 and will invite representatives from Veco and PLDT to discuss the problem.

The council asked the barangay council of Tinago to direct the neighboring establishment to provide closed circuit television (CCTV) camera footage of the July 7 incident to help identify the truck driver.

In the Capitol, the Cebu Provincial Board passed a resolution on Monday calling  on local governments in the province to require utility firms to assess the sturdiness of their telephone or electricity poles. /With Palompon Institute of Technology Intern, Mariel Grabillo