ABOUT 60 percent of Cebu City’s overhead wires are “dead wires” or are currently non-functional, according to Cebu City Councilor Jerry Guardo.
Guardo noted that the majority of these are telecommunication company (telco) wires.
He said these tangled overhead wires have accumulated over the past 20 years due to a lack of maintenance and regular clearing operations.
“Mao nang nibaga na kaayo ang wires. Hugaw na kaayo tan-awon. But actually, ang reality ana, only about 40 percent lang ang operational or functional,” Guardo said in an interview on “Beyond the Headlines,” SunStar Cebu’s news and commentary program, on Thursday, April 11, 2024.
(That is why the wires are already sagging; they look very messy. But in reality, only about 40 percent are operational or functional.)
Dilapidated poles
SunStar Cebu sought an interview with Guardo after it documented the presence of at least six leaning and dilapidated poles with tangled wires in the city over the past few weeks.
The responsible office has taken action on most of these reported cases of leaning poles.
The City Government, under Mayor Michael Rama, has its “Oplan Ratsada,” a spaghetti wire eradication project, to address these poles and wires that pose hazards to motorists and the public.
However, when asked for recent data on the coverage of Oplan Ratsada, Guardo was unable to provide it on Thursday. Among the telco operators in Cebu City are Converge, PLDT, Globe Telecom, Smart Communications, SkyCable and Dito.
The City Government is considering various approaches to dealing with these tangled overhead wires. One approach covers the implementation of underground cabling on major thoroughfares and a single-pole policy on interior roads, which is a requirement for the city’s standardization plan.
Guardo, who heads the technical infrastructure committee, said he plans to introduce an ordinance enforcing a single-pole policy to free up sidewalk space.
He noted that the existing poles along the sidewalks are too many, taking up significant space in the area.
“Nikawat na sa atong sidewalk, atong pedestrian nigamay kay daghan ra kaayog mga poste, which, for me, are unnecessary,” Guardo said on Thursday.
(Our sidewalk has become narrower; our pedestrians have become fewer because there are too many posts.)
He said this is a result of competition among telcos.
Standardization plan
Meanwhile, Guardo said they are piloting a standardization plan for interior roads, which involves establishing a uniform height for poles.
This initiative is being implemented on the P. del Rosario extension, where horizontal cross arms are being installed on certain telco poles to support the wires.
These horizontal cross arms, made of metal, will maintain the wire height at 18 feet.
Guardo said telco wires will be elevated with the horizontal cross arms, saying if there are any sagging wires, they will only be at around 17 feet, which is still relatively high.
To achieve the standardization in the installation of overhead wires, Guardo said they must implement the one-pole policy, standard height requirements for poles, horizontal cross arms and transfer of ownership of poles to the City Government.
Guardo said once the single-pole policy becomes an ordinance, arrangements between telcos regarding pole sharing will cease, and pole ownership will be transferred to the City Government.
Guardo believes what is needed is just one pole (for telco) between each Visayan Electric pole.
Underground cabling
To transform the city into a smart and disaster-resilient city, overhead wires on all major thoroughfares should be installed underground, said Guardo.
He also outlined plans to enforce standardized poles on interior roads, increasing their height from 16 feet to 18 feet.
He specified that the single-pole policy would apply to major thoroughfares like N. Bacalso Ave., the downtown area, Colon St., Banilad to Talamban, or areas like
Capitol, Escario. However, in interior areas like Cabantan, Guardo said there will still be overhead wires, but they will be standardizing how poles are installed. / AML, WBS