Photo shows spaghetti wires that pose danger to the community.
Following incidents of uprooted electric posts due to jumbled and tangled electrical and telecommunications (telco) cables or "spaghetti wires," the Metro Manila Council (MMC) announced it is considering the issuance of ordinances to prevent such incidents from occurring again.
MMC President and San Juan City Mayor Francis Zamora said the council, composed of the mayors of the 16 cities and lone municipality in the National Capital Region (NCR), as well as the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), will coordinate with telco companies and electric power providers to fix the so-called "spaghetti wires" that pose a serious hazard to residents.
"Napagusapan na ho namin ito minsan sa MMC at nagkasundo naman ho ang mga mayors at kanilang mga representatives na sa kanya kanyang mga lungsod namin ay makipag-ugnayan sa mga telcos (We have already talked about this in the MMC and all mayors and their representatives have agreed to coordinate with telco companies in our respective cities)," Zamora said, adding that the city already has an active ordinance against spaghetti wires.
In February 2021, the San Juan City government signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with utility companies in regulating the installation of wires and cables in the city.
The MOA also led to the creation of a joint executive-legislative task force which aims to ensure that wires and cables from utility companies will be regulated and monitored to prevent accidents like electrocution, fire, obstruction, as well as to prevent the degradation of the city's landscape and protect its historical landmarks.
The task force was created in response to City Ordinance No. 65, Series of 2020 or the “Anti-Dangling Wire Task Force Ordinance of San Juan.”
Spaghetti wires also pose fire hazards as the sagging cables could come into contact with houses which could lead to fire.
"It can contribute sa mabilis na pagkalat dahil probably meron din 'yan conductors sa loob ng wirings nila and once masunog nga 'yung pinaka-balat, so open siya, maaaring dumaloy 'yung kuryente po (Spaghetti wires could also contribute to the quick spread of fire as it contains conductors inside the wirings and once its covering burns off, electricity might flow through it)," Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) spokesperson Fire Senior Superintendent Annalee Carvajal Atienza said.
Power distributor Meralco said it had already started coordinating with local government units (LGUs), telcos, and cable companies to fix and organize their respective cables.