• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Four Bacolod councilors are pushing for the creation of a task force to remove leaning and hazardous electrical and telecommunications poles and wires that obstruct public roads and sidewalks in the highly-urbanized city.
Section 8 of the proposed ordinance authored by Councilor Pao Sy, and co-authored by councilors Caesar Distrito, Bobby Rojas, and Lady Gles Gonzales-Pallen, states that all telecommunications providers, electric companies, and cable operators are mandated to remove any unused, dangling, or abandoned lines; properly bundle and secure all active lines; and ensure that minimum vertical clearance standards are maintained in accordance with national safety regulations.
“The disorganized, dangling, and obsolete telecommunications and cable wires, collectively termed ‘nuisance and hazardous spaghetti wires’, constitute a threat to public safety, obstruction in public pathways, and damage to the aesthetic quality of Bacolod City,” stressed the proposal, approved on first reading by the Sangguniang Panlungsod March 18.
The proponent councilors said that concerned telecommunications providers, electric companies, and cable operators shall prepare and submit a consolidated list of all identified leaning, rotted, damaged, or structurally-compromised poles, including any sagging or hazardous cable wires.
Updated data shall be obtained from the barangays, preferably categorized per purok, identifying leaning posts, rotted wooden posts, sagging cable wires, and unused lines, the councilors said. “A specific and reasonable timeline shall be established for the completion of all restoration, repair, removal, or replacement works.”
A one-pole policy enforcement is also being pushed under the ordinance. “No telecommunications or utility provider shall install a new pole where an existing structurally-sound pole may be shared. Before installing new facilities, the provider must secure clearance from the City Engineer’s Office, present proof of coordination with other utility providers, and remove any obsolete, abandoned, or unused lines attached to the site.”
They took note of City Ordinance 08-13-658, which requires power and communication utility firms to ensure the repair and maintenance of their poles and up-to-date cabling and wiring.
Then Bacolod mayor Alfredo Benitez had also formed a task force, via an executive order, to remove unsightly and accident-causing spaghetti wires along the main streets of the city. | CGC
