Phone firms losing millions to Vizcaya cable thieves

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya — More than P5 million worth of fiber optic telephone cable wires were reported stolen in the Nueva Vizcaya area in the past few months, officials of a telecommunications firm said.

Engineer Peter Dumelod, area manager of Digital Telecommunications Inc. (Digitel), said that the estimated P5 million in losses only represents the direct cost of the stolen fiber optic wires and does not include the millions of pesos worth of business transactions lost as a result of the theft of cable wires.

"If we would include even the indirect losses brought about by the said thefts, the amount in pesos would be staggering," said Dumelod, whose area also covers Ifugao and Quirino.

Earlier, local police authorities apprehended two persons while allegedly stealing rolls of Digitel wires in nearby Bagabag town, which is one of those towns which bore the brunt of poor telecommunication service as a result of massive cable theft.

Police said that those responsible for stealing cable wires were either members of an organized crime syndicate or were acting on their own.