Wednesday, July 02, 2008 Editorial: On cable theft
THIEVES, robbers, burglars, shoplifters, pickpockets are a fact of life. They are as ancient as the time when Jacob stole Esau's birthright.
There are petty thieves who sometimes take advantage on our lack of vigilance, or simply carelessness. There are thieves who -- compelled by purely evil impulse or sheer necessity -- can cause physical harm; even kill to achieve their criminal objectives.
And then there are thieves who, by one act of pilferage, can hurt businesses and deprive the public of important services that, in some instances, adversely affect their security.
These are the serious troubles that thieves of copper-made cables in Cagayan de Oro City have been inflicting on businesses and their subscribers-homes that use electricity, telephone, cable TV and other telecommunication services.
Cases of cable theft have steadily risen since 2003, when telecom companies and even electric provider Cepalco started noticing the problem. Since then, around P20.2 million of cables have been lost to thieves-losses that not only burdened businesses but created an environment of increasingly unreliable telecommunication services.
On the law enforcement front, police have had successes arresting thieves. However, when charges are filed in courts, the cases rarely see progress either because the law enforcers had bungled on the evidence or the interested party-the company that owns the cable-had lost interest in pursuing the case. The result? Cable is repeatedly stolen, sometimes only a week after replacement or repair.
There have been various solutions offered to stop or at the very least, minimize the occurrence of cable theft in the city. However, the existing local laws that seek to protect cables from the grasp of the criminals and the reward system created to spur a citizen-led awareness against cable theft have proven inadequate.
Apparently, the fight against cable theft requires a Herculean effort under a united front of willing individuals and groups in the community.
In leading the formation of a taskforce against cable theft, the National Telecommunications Commission in Region 10 is on the right track in finally addressing this nagging problem. More importantly, the taskforce is composed of vital elements seen as lacking in the previous initiatives against cable pilferage, namely the legal prosecution aspect, law enforcement and the media.
For its part, the local government can lend its administrative powers to further boost the taskforce and achieve its goals. Already, several telecommunication companies have expressed reservations to the local government's seeming indifference on this issue. The last thing the administration can do is turn a blind eye on this problem and ruin Cagayan de Oro's much touted reputation as a business-friendly city.
