Power co-op unwittingly cuts off internet service to 2,000 subscribers in Agusan del Sur

TAKEN DOWN | Linemen of Agusan del Sur Electric Cooperative (Aselco) are taking down cables attached to its 69 KV transmission line post during the start of “Task Force Operation Baklas” on Nov. 20, including the fiber optic cable of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (Photo courtesy of ASELCO)

SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur, Philippines — An estimated 2,000 internet subscribers of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) in this province suddenly lost their internet connection when the Agusan del Sur Electric Cooperative Inc. (Aselco) unwittingly dismantled the company’s fiber optic cables when it cleared out lines of telecommunication companies that continued to attach their cable lines on the electric cooperative’s posts without paying their dues.

Floriano Abad Jr., the head of technical operations of PLDT Butuan City, said they were unaware of Aselco’s dismantling operation until numerous subscribers came to their office last week to file complaints of disconnection.

PLDT’s dismantled fiber optic cables were attached to Aselco’s 34-kilometer 69 KV transmission line. However, Aselco officials clarified that PLDT was not among the telecom companies targeted for the electric cooperative’s clearing operations, dubbed as “Operation Baklas,” which started on Nov. 20.

Not a delinquent payer

Since 2021, Aselco has been urging telecommunications companies, cable TV operators, and local internet service providers to settle their dues since several of them continued to attach their lines to the cooperative’s electric posts in different parts of the province without paying the corresponding dues, said Mimi Ramos, head of Aselco’s paralegal office.

Through a joint post agreement (JPA), Aselco charges these companies P420 for every post where they attach their cable lines, but some major telecommunications companies did not renew their rental agreements but continued to operate using the electric posts, Ramos said.

PLDT is not among the companies that have not been paying Aselco, the cooperative clarified. Ramos said they were unaware of PLDT’s fiber optic cables attached to the 69 KV transmission lines posts until complaints from PLDT’s subscribers reached their office.

But even before the start of Operation Baklas, Aselco already informed PLDT’s contractor, Marstel Cable Services, about the operation, adding that Marstel must have failed to relay the information to the PLDT office in Butuan City, said Ramos. Gradual restoration

The disconnection of PLDT’s fiber optic cables has badly affected homes and offices situated along the province’s national highway.

Abad, who spoke during the meeting between Aselco officials and PLDT subscribers on Thursday, said they could not provide a fixed timeline for the restoration of internet connections due to the damage incurred by 34 local convergence point optic cables.

Junel Ryan Denolo, chief of Aselco’s institutional services department, suggested that concerned parties should implement the provision of the JPA, which required the cooperative to tag and identify the ownership of cables attached to the electric posts to prevent similar incidents from happening again.