Friday, October 13, 2006
Town ups campaign v. cable theft
By Jane Cadalig
LA TRINIDAD Councilor Thomas Chamos on Thursday warned illegal cable connectors in the town to cease their illicit activities, saying their days are numbered.
"They (cable thieves) should be warned that the local government is now stern in its campaign against them," said Chamos, chairman of the Municipal Council committee on public utilities.
The ordinance was first proposed last year but no final action was done. Chamos and other members of the town's legislative body revived the proposal this year.
The Municipal Council is deliberating on a proposed ordinance aiming to stop the rampant practice of illegal cable and the Internet service tapping, claimed to cause huge losses to legitimate providers, by imposing penalties to individuals or households found to be engaged in the act. Chamos is one of the proponents of the measure.
Fines would range from P1,500 to P2,000 or imprisonment of three to six months depending on the gravity of the offense committed.
If the ordinance is approved, La Trinidad would be the ninth local government unit (LGU) in the country to pass an anti-cable pilferage measure.
Other LGUs that penalize cable thefts include Makati City, Ormoc, Lipa City, Bulacan, Lucena, Quezon City and Manila.
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) earlier asked the LGUs to legislate laws to address the problems, saying that the national laws and regulations are not sufficient to solve the problem.
There are only two cable television networks in La Trinidad -- SkyCable and Mountainview Cable.
Although the proposed ordinance has yet to be subjected to a public hearing, Councilor Jim Botiwey, co-author of the measure, said several constituents already reacted negatively to the proposal. "There are already some who manifested hostile reactions to the proposal," he said.
The measure was already approved on first reading.
(October 13, 2006 issue)
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