THE City Government of Bacolod urged all the junk shop owners not to accept stolen wires of telecommunications companies (telco) in the city.

City Administrator Atty. Pacifico Maghari III, who held a meeting with the junk shop owners along with the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) at the Government Center Thursday, May 18, said the junk shop owners should be responsible because they will also be liable for buying stolen wires.

“This is the continuous effort of the city government to address the rampant stealing of wires from various Telcos. We are involving everyone to stop this kind of illegal activity in the city,” he said.

He added that they already held a meeting with the prosecutors and telco officials in Bacolod.

Maghari noted that they also asked the cooperation of the junk shop owners to provide information for the possible individuals who are selling stolen wires within their barangays.

“If there’s no buyer, there’s no stealing of cable wires here so we need their cooperation to address this problem,” Maghari said.

He said they discussed with the junk shop owners the legal consequences of dealing in stolen goods as well as the responsibility of junk shop businesses to report suspicious transactions.

He added BCPO also asked the City Council to review the city ordinance to penalize the perpetrators including the junk shop owners.

As of April 2023, Bacolod City has a total of 49 registered junk shops.

At about 1 a.m. Thursday, May 18, a 38-year-old man was arrested by operatives of Police Station 8 for stealing cable wires along Araneta Street, Barangay Singcang-Airport.

Police identified the suspect as Neil Celestre, a resident of Barangay Mansilingan.

Maghari said that based on the report of BCPO, the suspect was caught in the act stealing telco wires worth P13,000 owned by Globe Telecom.

The suspect, who will be charged for theft, is detained at the custodial facility of Police Station 8.

On May 6, a construction worker was also arrested by operatives of Police Station 8 after he was caught in the act of stealing telco wires.*