PUGI aims high to ‘open up’ city’s skyline

By Francis Allan L. Angelo

 

Spaghetti wires, cable and telco wires hanging like jungle vines, and topsy-turvy electric meter placements could be things of the past if the Public Utilities Group of Iloilo or PUGI makes good of its word.

PUGI is described as “a first” in Iloilo City; public utilities met and spent hours brainstorming for ways to solve one of the city’s persistent problems – clear the streets and the skyline of sagging and tangled utility wires or commonly called as “spaghetti wires.”

Engr. Randy Pastolero, executive assistant for Power to Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas, said “the gathering of influential minds” in the city resulted in the organization of PUGI, which lists as members all major players in the city’s public utility sector.

“This collaboration is actually the brainchild of Mr. Roel Castro of MORE Power. And it was indeed a very good idea which eventually galvanized the support and the cooperation of all those in public utilities based in our city,” he said.

“Having these major players such as cable TV and telecom companies such as SkyCable, Smart-PLDT, Globe Telecom, Panay Broadband, Eastern Telecom, Dito Telecom, and MORE Power united in the campaign to rid our streets and communities with these perennial eyesores is really a big help to the city government and we are really grateful.”

Pastolero said the local government was bent on getting rid of the spaghetti wires which are the bad side of development.

“And the existence of PUGI is very timely because it is the thrust of Mayor Jerry Treñas to really get rid of the unsightly poles and wires for Iloilo City to set a standard and be a cut above the rest or at par with other cities in the region and the country. Kay ining problema [This problem] is happening everywhere. We will be doing this in Iloilo City para makita sang iban nga maubra ini [so others will see that it can be done],” Pastolero said.

PUGI’s operation covers the entire streets of Iloilo City and is conducted every Tuesday and Saturday.

“Our objective is to ensure the safety of everyone, and of course, the aesthetics of the lines that are being installed in the city. Definitely, our streets will soon look better, tidier and a lot safer,” Pastolero said.

The problem of spaghetti wires is much pronounced at Brgy. San Pedro, Molo. But with the operations of PUGI and its members, things look brighter for the village.

“Daw tawhay na gani subong kag wala ka na kulba kay halos may mga kuntador na tanan kag plastado na gid halos mga poste [seems a lot better now and one could no longer be nervous because almost everybody already has their own meter],” according to resident Ritchel Javelona.

But if Ritchel is delighted, Barangay Captain Karl John Lapascua of San Pedro is more cheerful.

“Of course, as barangay captain, I am very thankful for MORE Company for helping us and in making our barangay the pilot area in the replacement of poles for it is such a big help to the fire bureau because the last time we had a fire at the back portion, mostly the concerns of the Bureau of Fire Protection were the spaghetti wires for they are too low. And I am so happy that MORE Power swiftly acted on it and they even put up a well–arranged cluster of poles. It is indeed advantageous because they’re high enough and could certainly free us from possible fires,” Lapascua said.

 

LONG STANDING PROBLEM

Records indicate that 60 percent of electric consumers in San Pedro, Molo, are engaged in electric pilferage or illegal power connection.

The data is based on information from the barangay and the records culled by MORE Power.

“San Pedro records a high percentage of pilferage so what we are doing now is to bring the pilferage to its lowest end. We cannot do that alone though. I have already spoken to the mayor and to the barangay captains because we need their support and participation for us to successfully reverse this. We know for a fact that after we cut them (pilferers) off, they will just reconnect after we leave, and we cannot be deploying people 24/7 just to watch out for people who are doing this. If that is the case, I would rather put up a security agency. But nevertheless, the approach that we are doing now is through the barangays, and Brgy. San Pedro, being the one with the highest number of pilferers, I guess it’s a good thing that we start from here,” MORE Power president and chief operating officer Roel Castro said.

Pastolero said MORE Power pushed to make San Pedro a model barangay to showcase the benefits of having a legitimate and orderly power distribution grid.

“They informed Mayor Jerry Treñas of what they intend to do, and the mayor liked their proposal. But why San Pedro, Molo? One could notice that we have quite a number of fire incidents in that barangay primarily because of illegal connections. So, it’s really high time that we engage the support of the community including the barangay with the help of our power distributor. And of course, with the support of PUGI,” Pastolero said.

Pastolero said the campaign was not easy for them but it did bear fruit somehow.

“It was actually a tough ride but thank God it worked. Now we have a model barangay in the city which we can really call a pilot area that should be duplicated by the other barangays,” he said.