Metro LGUS urged to act vs ‘spaghetti’ wires

UNSIGHTLY SIGHT: They ruin the cityscape and threaten lives and properties. Tangled and dangling cables and electrical wires are the next items to be cleaned on the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority’s agenda with the help of local government officials. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

The Metro Manila Council (MMC) has approved a resolution urging local government units (LGUs) in the National Capital Region (NCR) to pass ordinances to regulate the installation and maintenance of distribution lines and also rid streets under their jurisdiction of dangling wires and “spaghetti” cables.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) acting Chair Romando Artes said in a press briefing that dangling wires, overloaded poles, and the chaotic placement of distribution wires on metro streets were not only eyesores but also posed a danger to people and their properties.

“Just the other day, a pole fell down because of intertwined wires and caused heavy traffic. No one could pass because it blocked the road. We need to avoid this so that it would not lead to loss of life,” he added.

MMDA Resolution No. 24-16 Series of 2024, which the MMC adopted in principle earlier this week, noted that “this long-standing malady needs to be immediately addressed and remedied as a measure of efficient and effective governance for the promotion of the general welfare of the people.”

READ: House bill seeks to rid major roads of ‘spaghetti wires’ 

MMC president and San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora, who was at the press conference, said that some of the wires attached to many poles were useless and nonoperational and should be removed.

He added that each LGU could pass its own ordinance to ensure that wires and cables would be regulated and monitored to prevent accidents, citing that his city passed an ordinance setting up an anti-dangling wire task force in 2020.

Costly solution

The MMDA resolution recalled that last year, the MMC had urged Metro Manila LGUs to pass ordinances requiring all electrical and telecommunication wires and cables to be placed underground.

“[I]t is conceded, however, that this solution of placing power and distribution lines in underground locations will not only [be more costly] but will take a long time in [terms of] planning and execution so that a more immediate and speedy solution to this problem should be put into place and realized,” it stated.

The MMC is the governing board and policymaking body of the MMDA. It is composed of the MMDA chair and all NCR mayors, among other members.