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Friday, May 26, 2006
City loses millions in cable robbery
By Ben O. Tesiorna
DAVAO CITY -- Robbers who target cable wires have cost Davao City millions of pesos in terms of losses in the local economy, officials of the Philippine Long Distance Telecommunications (PLDT) said Thursday during a press forum.
On Sunday, robbers destroyed a PLDT fiber optic cable at the Bankerohan Bridge by sawing through the thick steel pipe covering.
PLDT manager Ben Gayte said the destruction of their fiber optic cable affected the areas of Bankerohan to Toril and Calinan, isolating these places from all forms of communication for almost 24 hours.
Gayte said banks, hospitals, and other establishments that depend on communication and information technology incurred losses that could run to millions of pesos.
The PLDT already coordinated with police authorities to stop the growing incidence of cable theft in the city.
PLDT asset protection division chief Celso Sison said the growing incidence of cable theft is already alarming.
Davao City Police Office director Catalino Cuy said it is possible that a syndicate is behind all this. He said cable theft is happening not just in Davao City but also in other parts of the country.
Cuy said the syndicate employs young thieves to do its dirty work and "export" the stolen cables outside the city for smelting.
It was learned that thieves responsible for the PLDT cable damage were well equipped with tools that could penetrate the thick steel pipe covering of the fiber optic cables.
Gayte said the thieves however gained nothing from their heist since the fiber optic cables are worthless in the market.
He said the thieves must have thought that the cables were made of copper.
PLDT officials appealed to the public to help in protecting cable lines by immediately reporting to their 164 hotline any incidence of cable theft in their area. (Sun.Star Davao)
(May 26, 2006 issue)
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