THE Department of Public Works and Highways-Davao Region (DPWH-Davao) confirmed that a portion of lights along the Davao City Coastal Road are inactive due to wire theft.
Dean Ortiz, the spokesperson of DPWH-Davao, bared this during the 11th regular session at the Sangguniang Panlungsod on Friday afternoon, March 22, 2024.
“Issues and concerns, half of the street lights installed are non-operational due to stolen wires,” he said.
“It’s really prone to theft kasi ang ginabuhat nila kay kawaton ang kable unya ibaligya ra pod, sunugon ug ibaligya ra pod sa mga junkshops (It's a recurrent problem as thieves frequently target the cables to sell them to junkshops),” he continued.
He said that wire theft has plagued the department since the inception of the coastal road construction project.
While some sections, such as those from the Talomo-Matina bridge embankment, remain functional, the majority of street lights are affected.
Ortiz elaborated on the modus operandi of the perpetrators, who tamper with the street light posts and extract cables, typically around 100 meters in length. Such incidents are documented in police stations in Bago, Talomo, and Ecoland.
“One night everything is on tanan na mga lights natu and then the next day wala na all to find out na wala na diay atoang mga kable, gipangtangal na, gipangbaligya na (Imagine, one night, all the lights are shining bright, and the next day, they're all out. Only to realize that all the cables were stolen and sold),” he said.
He went on to mention that the DPWH-Davao had already installed street lights along the entire 13-kilometer stretch of the coastal road, although some sections still require adjustments. RGP
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