Left in the dark in Navotas

Barangay Tangos in Navotas is now a virtual ghost town, groping in pitch black darkness, after a Meralco team cut off illegal service connections yesterday in 90 percent of the entire 5,000 households in the barangay in a pre-dawn saturation drive in the area.

The barangay hall itself was also found illegally tapping from the main Meralco line in violation of RA 7832 better known as the Anti (Electricity)-Pilferage Act of 1995.

Rener Musngi, chief of the inspection unit that led the anti-illegal connections drive, said some 4,500 households were caught illegally tapping electricity from the utility firm’s mainline in a raid that began at around 4:30 yesterday morning. The whole barangay woke up with no lights, no air conditioners (for the more affluent ones in the community) and electric fans, refrigerators and other electrical devices working.

Musngi said these users did not have any legal contract with Meralco and were in effect stealing electricity. He said only some 500 households in the area are legitimate and were provided their respective electric meters.

Musngi further revealed that the barangay hall has been also found to be illegally tapping from the mainline. He said his office has invited Barangay Chairman Rene Cruz, other barangay officials and affected residents for questioning on Tuesday at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) office on Taft Avenue in Manila. Cruz could not be immediately reached for comment. This situation in Tangos has meant some P1.5 million in losses for the firm per month, Musngi told The STAR.

Musngi said the drive meant to lower systems losses is ongoing in the franchise area extending as far north as San Miguel, Bulacan and Candaba in Pampanga down to Laguna, Cavite and Batangas in the South (Luzon).

The Anti-Organized Crime Unit of the NBI provided security for the service cutters of Meralco in the raid yesterday. — Jerry Botial