Telcos finally meet deadline, to show Rama accomplishment

CEBU, Philippines - Instead of just submitting a written report, utility firms in Cebu City have agreed to show their accomplishment in a walkthrough on Friday with Mayor Michael Rama's presence.

Yesterday was the deadline imposed by Rama on the utility firms to remove and correct all hazardous wires and posts along the city streets to prevent accidents.

City Engineer and Technical Infrastructure Committee head Engr.  Jose Marie Poblete said they will check the accomplishment in the area itself as agreed.

"Pait kaayo ako ang maningil sa report unya akoy mo-present. So ang idea is lakawon ang area nga na-accomplish nila. Instead of just giving the mayor the written report, atong i-verify sa area ang ilang nahimo," he said, adding that the actual presentation is better appreciated.

The walkthrough will start from Plaza Independencia to M.J. Cuenco Avenue, to Imus street, to D. Jakosalem Street, then to City Hall.

Last February 24, Rama and Poblete expressed disappointment over the snail-paced removal of redundant poles and bundling of wires in the city.

Only 95 out of 865 redundant poles had been removed by utility firms then.

Involved utility firms are the Visayan Electric Company, Bayan Telecommunications, Globe Telecom, Innove Communications, Inc., Telecom Infrastructure Corp. of the Philippines, Sky Cable Digitel, and Philippine Long Distance Telephone company.

Rama ordered the One Pole Policy cited under City Ordinance 1894 that aims "to regulate a utility set up that will be safe, secure and aesthetically pleasing for the Cebu City constituents."

Under the same ordinance, utility firms are mandated to do underground cabling. Rama's directive came after the death of a young boy in Tejero after a concrete electric post fell on him when a truck snagged the sagging wires.

Initially, the deadline for the directive was October 2015. It was not met and so Rama set another deadline, which was yesterday.

Under the agreement signed by Rama and the utility firms, failure to comply on the improvement of hazardous wires and posts would mean revocation of their business permit. — (FREEMAN)