Manila Mayor Francisco ‘Isko’ Moreno Domagoso on Monday directed Meralco to clear more than 12,000 damaged and leaning electric poles across the city after a mapping initiative identified thousands of unserviceable posts that could pose safety risks.
During a consultative meeting on ‘systems loss’ charges, Domagoso said the city government had mapped more than 33,000 electric poles using its ArcGIS system and found more than 6,000 damaged poles and more than 6,000 leaning poles.
Domagoso instructed Meralco to remove all identified unserviceable poles, stressing that no district should be prioritized over another. Meralco representatives committed to speeding up the removal of idle poles and said they would provide the city government with a timeline for completing the work.
‘There may be some shortcomings in the past, but we try to correct them today and in the future. You have a friend in the City,’ Domagoso told Meralco representatives.
The mayor also assured Meralco that the city government would help ensure the safety of utility personnel conducting anti-electricity pilferage operations through the Manila Police District.
‘These people are simply doing their job. They should not be put in harm’s way,’ he said in Filipino.
According to the Manila Public Information Office, Meralco representatives also informed the city government that some barangay officials allegedly use illegal electrical connections in their homes and that some anti-pilferage operations have been delayed or obstructed.
The city government said it would coordinate directly with the concerned barangays before enforcement operations to help address access refusals and right-of-way concerns raised by Meralco.
Domagoso also ordered the creation of a real-time coordination channel among the city government, the Manila Police District, and Meralco to facilitate communication during anti-pilferage operations.
The city government said the measures are intended to expedite the removal of unserviceable poles and improve coordination between the local government and the power distributor during field operations. /mcm