‘Jumper-reseller’ busted

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

 

A resident of Brgy. San Pedro, Molo is facing criminal charges for alleged power pilferage.

The alleged racket was discovered after MORE Power, the power distributor in Iloilo City, received a tip from a concerned citizen.

According to a report from MORE Power, the alleged mastermind is Dionisio Oton of San Pedro village.

The report also claimed that Oton illegally tapped to MORE Power’s distribution line and supplied electricity to a car repair shop of Erene Dioso, a videoke bar and an ukay-ukay or second-hand clothing store owned by Mina Jama, a carwash shop by Almager Jama, and a vehicle emission testing center owned by Vicente Jaen.

The owners of the said establishments pointed to Dionisio Oton as the one who tapped to the secondary distribution then supplied electricity to their businesses. They were charged P15 per kilowatt-hour which was based on meters that Oton installed in their businesses.

Since MORE Power did not catch the suspects in the act of illegally tapping to the power lines, the warrantless arrest cannot be applied.

MORE Power will, instead, file charges against them for violating Republic Act 7832 (Anti-electricity and Electric Transmission Lines/Materials Pilferage Act of 1994). Violators face jail time and hefty penalty if proven guilty.

The electrical lines the suspects used were confiscated to be used as evidence in the cases to be filed.

The operation was an offshoot of MORE Power’s incentive program “Jumper Mo, Noche Buena Ko,” which seeks to apprehend power thieves through tips from concerned citizens.