5 Maynilad posers nabbed for stealing telco wires

MANILA, Philippines — Makati police arrested five men who posed as employees of Maynilad and entered a manhole to steal underground telecommunications wires.

Roving police caught the men entering the manhole along Kalayaan Avenue in Barangay Olympia at past 1 a.m. on Thursday. The men wore Maynilad uniforms and were equipped with tools to cut wires.

The men did not immediately emerge from the manhole until police entered it themselves.

The suspects had cut 200 meters of wires, weighing two tons, before police arrived at the scene.

Had authorities not apprehended them, the wires would have been loaded onto a delivery truck and sold to fences, police said.

“We have received (information about) an incident like this a few days ago, so we monitored this group and caught them in the act of cutting and stealing the underground wires,” Col. Reycon Garduque, Makati police officer-in-charge, told reporters.

The suspects said they only committed the crime out of poverty due to their low wages as construction workers.

In a statement, Maynilad said none of the five men had official ties to the West Zone water concessionaire.

“We strongly condemn the unauthorized use of the Maynilad name, uniforms and signage in connection with any illegal act,” the firm said yesterday.

Maynilad reminded customers that legitimate employees and contractors use company-issued IDs, uniforms and vehicles bearing the concessionaire’s logo.