Power, telecommunication, and cable companies have banded together to remove unsightly “spaghetti” and dangling wires from Cebu City streets to prevent accidents and as part of a clean-up drive.
The Visayan Electric Company, Inc. (VECO) is leading the initiative in collaboration with PLDT, Smart Communications, Skycable, Globe, and Eastern Telecom Philippines.
Anton Mari Perdices, VECO chief operations officer, said he was asked by Mayor Tomas Osmeña a few weeks ago to oversee efforts that will address concerns over low-hanging power and cable wires.
When VECO called for a meeting to discuss the mayor’s concerns, PLDT and Smart customer service and operations zone head Rene J. Lescano said he suggested that they form a group like what they did in Iloilo to tackle the same problem.
The group first focused on a portion of Gen. Maxilom Avenue, specifically from the corner of F. Ramos St. to the corner of Juana Osmeña St., as a test area for the clean-up.
Globe regional manager for cable engineering Edlin Jose delos Reyes said that after assessing the situation, they took out the dead wires and bundled the active ones together with clamps.
The next step will be show it to Mayor Osmeña and get his approval on their solution before coming up with a timeline for clean-up works all throughout the city starting with its main thoroughfares, added Skycable general manager Niño Rey Sarabosing.
Representatives of the utility companies agreed that an underground installation of power and cable wires would be very expensive and not a fitting solution for many areas in Cebu City.
