• THERESA MAE DULMAN
A series of wire theft incidents targeting utility infrastructure around the Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC) in Barangay Villamonte resulted in an estimated total loss of P50,000.
The repeated thefts were officially recorded at the Bacolod City Police Office Station 4 on Aug. 24, following a report filed by the Office of the Building Administrator (OBA).
“Based on the blotter report of the OBA, we have three incidents of theft involving electrical wirings here at BCGC grounds,” secretary to the mayor, Atty. Jose Marty Go, said Aug. 27.
According to a police report, unidentified suspects repeatedly cut and stripped electrical copper wirings and related utility components belonging to the city government across multiple dates.
The first incident was discovered July 28; during an inspection, it was found out that the wirings for the “Stronger Together” signage in front of the BCGC had been cut and stolen.
Despite initial repairs, newly-installed replacement lines were also stolen shortly after.
Subsequent routine checks Aug. 11 revealed that thieves targeted the “Stronger Together” signage wire once more, along with the electrical lines for the landmark floodlight and several utility access plates.
The latest incident occurred Aug. 22, when staff noticed that the Global Perimeter Lights were entirely non-operational.
A site inspection by a building electrician Aug. 24 confirmed that all internal wirings supplying the lamp posts along that section had also been stripped.
“As to the suspect, the investigation of the Bacolod City Police Office is still ongoing. We requested the BCPO that, aside from the POSO guards of the BCGC, they will also add more police visibility, especially at night, until midnight,” Go said.
He added the city will file a criminal complaint once the suspect is identified and arrested. | TMD
