THE Davao Light and Power Co., Inc. (Davao Light) revealed that they had already removed 15 posts in compliance with the Anti-Spaghetti Wire Ordinance of 2023.
Aside from that, Fermin P. Edillon, Reputation Enhancement Department Head of Davao Light, revealed to SunStar Davao in a phone interview, that as of February 4, 2024, telecom utility companies also removed around 20 posts in adherence to Ordinance No. 0354-23 otherwise known as the Anti-Spaghetti Wire Ordinance 2023.
“We are hoping nga before mag-end ang adlaw naa tay dakong accomplishment dinha but paghan-ay siguro it might take time kay tan-awon man gyud nimo daghang mga cables, daghang mga wires (We are hoping that before the day ends we will have huge accomplishments here but for the arrangement of the wires it might take time because as you can see there are a lot of cables, there are a lot of wires),” Edillon said on Sunday morning, February 4, 2024.
He added that they provided facilities for other utility companies so that they could have a place for their posts that is parallel to the underground cabling project that would also adhere to the ordinance.
“But what we can actually do is we have the city to arrange it properly para dili siya pangit tan-awon sa mata sa atoang mga kataw-an, labi na sa mga mata sa atoang mga bisita (But what we can actually do is we have the city to arrange it properly so that it will not look ugly in the eyes of Dabawenyos, especially to our visitors),” he expressed.
The goal of this activity is to lessen the spaghetti wires in the city, with downtown areas as their priority before proceeding to other areas in Davao City.
Edillon clarified that the role of Davao Light is to aid the implementation and provide brackets to telco wires to prevent them from sagging, take out dead wires, and arrange the existing active wires.
On February 4, the City Government of Davao, the Davao Light, and cable, internet, and telephone companies commenced the work for the clearing of inactive and cluttered poles that have been obstructing the roads and sidewalks of the city along Rizal Street.
Among those present at the event were some of the authors of the ordinance — Councilor Bonz Militar and Councilor Jessica Bonguyan.
The Sangguniang Panlungsod approved the Anti-Spaghetti Wire Ordinance of 2023, requiring utility companies to relocate their installations to the dominant pole within seven days of receiving notice. The ordinance enforces compliance with Republic Act 11361, the "Anti-Obstruction of Power Lines Act," ensuring unimpeded sub-transmission and distribution systems without dangerous obstructions.
The City Engineer's Office will identify and transfer least-used poles to a dominant pole, and telecom companies are ordered to remove dangling and untraceable lines.
Utility companies have three years to comply with the regulations and failure to comply will be meted with P300 per pole per day as a penalty. Failure to pay will result in business permit non-renewal. RGP
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