ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Visayas devider Bounty offered vs water meter thieves in Cebu

Bounty offered vs water meter thieves in Cebu

Published Jun 14, 2025 06:20 pm
CEBU CITY – A cash reward will be given to informants who could help arrest those involved in stealing water meters owned by the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD).
THE Metropolitan Cebu Water District has recorded an alarming rise of water meter theft incidents. (MCWD)
THE Metropolitan Cebu Water District has recorded an alarming rise of water meter theft incidents. (MCWD)
The water utility is offering the bounty amid the alarming rise in water meter theft incidents in recent months.
The MCWD said that P25,000 will be given to any informant who can provide information leading to the arrest of individuals who buy stolen water meters and another P10,000 to those who can help in the arrest of a water meter thief.
MCWD is appealing to the police and the community to help identify meter thieves and buyers of stolen meters.
It said that in the month of May alone, it received 174 reports of stolen water meters, more than three times the number recorded during the same period last year.
One-hundred sixteen cases were reported in the first 10 days of June.
The MCWD Board of Directors has directed management to develop an action plan and coordinate with the Philippine National Police to apprehend the thieves and fences.
The water district has sent a formal request to Police Brig. Gen. Redrico Maranan, chief of the Police Regional Office-Central Visayas, to ask for assistance in response to the surge in water meter theft cases.
MCWD has previously filed cases against water meter thieves, resulting in convictions. It will also file charges against individuals who buy stolen water meters, commonly known as fences.
The Anti-Fencing Law of 1979 defines fencing as the act of any person who, with intent to gain for themselves or another, buys, possesses, keeps, acquires, conceals, sells, disposes of, or in any manner deals with any article, item, object, or anything of value which they know, or should know, to have been derived from the proceeds of robbery or theft.
Fencing is punishable by prisión mayor or prisión correccional, depending on the value of the property involved.
The water district also urged the public to remain vigilant and report any case of water meter theft by calling the MCWD Call Center at 254-8434 local 0 or through its official Facebook page Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) and Messenger.
If a water meter is stolen, the consumer’s water service is automatically interrupted, as the meter connects the stub-out to the service line leading to the house.
It also poses a risk of water contamination, as the line is left open once the meter is removed.
To request a replacement for a stolen water meter, the costumer must report the incident to the nearest police station and secure a police report before proceeding to the MCWD One-Stop Shop.

Related Tags

MCWD Water meters Theft
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.