Asisclo T. Gonzaga, in a press conference, said 17 persons were arrested Holy Thursday by the Philippine National Police in Kalayaan, Laguna after they were caught transporting about 3,000 kilos of transmission cables stolen from Transco.
The cables which were stolen from a storage area in Paete, Laguna and intended for the 500-kilovolt (kV) Ilijan Tayabas line and the uprating of the 230-kV San Jose-Tayabas line to 500 kV. The Ilijan-Tayabas line was built by Napocor to transport electricity from Ilijan natural gas power plant in Batangas which will utilize fuel from the Malampaya reserve in Palawan. It also carries electricity from Pagbilao and Mauban coal-fired plants and the geothermal plants in Leyte and the Bicol region.
Transmission lines, Gonzaga said, are stolen for their aluminum content. They are melted and converted into magwheels, pots and pans and aluminum products.
Gonzaga said they have filed appropriate criminal charges against these individuals and will support efforts of the Department of Energy (DOE) to push for greater punishments for these crimes. "Over the past five years, more than 36 kilometers of transmission cable have been stolen, mostly in Laguna. Sometimes thefts occur within two weeks after these cables are replaced," Gonzaga said.
Energy Secretary Vincent S. Perez reiterated his call for Congress to amend Republic Act 7832 to impose stricter penalty for transmission line thefts. He said the penalty is only rereclusion temporal which is considered a bailable offense. "The penalty should be as severe as reclusion perpetua (life imprisonment)," he added.