Single-pole ordinance hurdles second reading

CEBU, Philippines — The members of the Mandaue City Council in their regular session yesterday approved on second reading the “Mandatory Single-Pole Ordinance of 2024” which fines utility companies ?300 per pole per day for non-compliance with the provisions of the proposed measure.

In his sponsorship speech, Councilor Jimmy Lumapas said that time and again the city encounters cases where leaning post or dangling aerial utility wires are dragged to the ground by trucks, and cause road closure or heavy traffic in a certain area.

The single-pole policy is the policy of the city that regulates the number of poles erected in any specific location by allowing one pole erected at one location with a spacing of less than 30 meters from each other, unless otherwise allowed by the Technical Infrastructure Committee (TIC).

The said measure, if approved on final reading next week, will penalize utility companies for their low-lying cables and messy attachments that pose risk to public safety and affect the beautification program of the city.

“Existing clustered poles from various utility companies can clearly obstruct mobility of pedestrians along sidewalks while leaning and clustered poles poses clear threat to our passing pedestrians and vehicles,” Lumapas said.

Under the said ordinance, clustered poles is defined as more than one pole erected at one location with a spacing of less than five meters from each other and which are owned by a lone utility company or by different utility companies.

“In order to protect these aerial utility lines from damage or relocation and future development and construction of improvement and road widening, the increase in the minimum height requirement of the abovementioned lines, wires and cables is given with utmost emphasis in this ordinance,” Lumapas said.

On  September 21 last year, the Mandaue City Government held a public consultation gearing towards its primary objective of crafting a single-pole policy in the city which was participated by the Visayan Electric, Metropolitan Cebu Water District, Department of Public Works and Highways, National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, various telephone companies, barangay captains, and other stakeholders.

During the meeting of the Mandaue City Technical Infrastructure Committee held last May 23, the final proposal containing the “Mandatory Single-Pole Ordinance” was adopted by all of its members constituting the quorum and it was endorsed to the City Council Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities, as well as the Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure for appropriate action.

This ordinance shall apply to all public and private utilities including Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT), Globe, Smart, Converge, Cebu Cable, Eastern Telecommunication, and all other public and private utilities that have aerial utility lines in the city. (CEBU NEWS)