Darkness along C-5 Road hit

Thieves are to blame for the pitch darkness along the C-5 Road from Makati to Pasig, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

The lack of streetlights at the newly-constructed highway has been the subject of complaints of hundreds of motorists who said traversing the road at high speed at night was constantly very risky.

Val Carporal, 26, salesman, and Pasig City resident, noted that squatters along the road cross the highway and cause near-mishaps as motorists swerve in time to avoid running over the jaywalkers.

Salvador Pleyto, DPWH-National Capital Region director, said their attempts to install the much-needed streetlights have been hampered by thefts of electric cables and wirings for streetlight installations.

Pleyto said squatter residents along the highway are suspects behind the theft.

It was learned that the latest theft took place late last month when three kilometers of aerial electric wiring, newly-installed in a portion of the highway, was stolen.

Sometime last September, thieves ran away with underground wiring for the whole stretch of C-5 Road which will cost the government millions of pesos to replace.

Taguig Mayor Ricardo Papa said the municipal government has also been victimized by the wire thieves.

Papa revealed that the municipal government has several times shouldered the cost of new wirings to replace stolen ones, only to be stolen, too.

Papa said some P5 million in electric wire bought by the town have been stolen, apart from the wire and cable bought by the DPWH.

Papa said they have tried changing streetlight wiring from underground to aerial cables but this did not stop the thieves.

Papa said all he can do is order the police to conduct more patrols on the highway.

Lately, the police have been conducting surveillance operations on suspected members of the syndicate perpetrating the cable thefts.

Papa said the people who live in the squatters area along the highway are pugnacious and unruly when attempts are made to relocate them and have been known to throw burning tires on the highway in a malicious attempt to create road accidents.