THE Davao City Water District (DCWD) warns Dabawenyos of unauthorized individuals posing as their employees to do various illegal activities.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, February 14, 2024, DCWD warned their customers over individuals parading themselves as their personnel to carry out illegal activities such as water meter theft.
“Customers are advised to report any suspicious-looking individuals to DCWD’s 24/7 call center hotline at 235-3293, text support (0927-798-8966, 0925-511-3293, or 0908-441-0653), and chat support in the DCWD website or Facebook page,” the water utility wrote in its post.
JC Duhaylungsod, DCWD spokesperson, told SunStar Davao in a text message that they received several reports from their customers of the illegal activities.
“Siguro, in a year, naay two to five reports. Nag-gawas lang mi as part of our reminder to our customers (In a year, we have two to five reports. We just released [an advisory] as part of our reminder to our customers),” she said.
She added that they are utilizing their other social media platforms to inform their customers to be wary of people pretending to be DCWD personnel. They are also coordinating with barangays, subdivisions, and the police concerning this false representation.
DCWD then advised customers to ask first for an identification card issued by the company before letting these people touch their water meter.
Under the Revised Penal Code, unauthorized use of DCWD’s name, uniform, and insignia is punishable by law.
Under article 177, it states that “Any person who shall knowingly and falsely represent himself to be an officer, agent or representative of any department or agency of the Philippine Government or of any foreign government, or who, under pretense of official position, shall perform any act pertaining to any person in authority or public officer of the Philippine Government, or any agency thereof, without being lawfully entitled to do so, shall suffer the penalty of prision correccional in its minimum and medium periods."
If an individual is found guilty they will be penalized with six months to four years in prison.
Also, under Article 179, the use of DCWDs uniform and insignia is prohibited.
“A person who uses the insignia, uniforms, or any clothing associated with an office they do not hold or a class of people they are not a member of, will be subjected to an arresto mayor, which can last anywhere from one month and a day to six months.” RGP