City dad files measure vs. 'spaghetti' wirings

Unsightly transmission lines dangling above streets, subdivision roads and major thoroughfares may soon be a thing of the past.

This as councilor Hilario Davide III filed a measure that will regulate the placing and installing of transmission lines by public utilities operating in the city, providing penalties for violation and for other purposes.

Davide observed that everywhere, along the city's streets and major thoroughfares and even in private subdivision roads, the intertwining transmission lines look "black spaghetti" hanging loosely from one post to another.

"These dangling spaghetti wires are not only messy and ugly to look at but are also a hazard to public safety," Davide's proposed measure read.

If the proposed measure will be approved, a color-coding system will also be adopted to all transmission lines that have been, or will be, installed by public utilities for easy identification. For this purpose, the city planning board will assign to each public utility a particular color for its transmission lines to promulgate rules and regulations for the effective implementation of the color-coding system.

"These exposed and dangling transmission lines belonging to and installed by public utilities are all colored black making it difficult to distinguish one from the other and determine which of these transmission lines have become a threat to public safety or have become eyesores," Davide pointed out.

The trend today with highly industrialized and urbanized cities is that some transmission lines are installed underground, clearing the roads and highways from obstructions.

"This is to ensure and promote safety and convenience of the inhabitants of our city and arrest further disfiguration of our landscape," Davide said

Any violation of the ordinance will be penalized by a fine of not less than P3,000 nor more than P5,000. - Garry B. Lao