Cable theft still rampant in province
LINGAYEN–If you are phone service has been disrupted, blame it on the unabated and rampant theft of cables in your area.
This was aired anew by Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. (Digitel), one of the main telecommunication service providers in the Luzon area, decrying the continued rampant cable theft in Pangasinan.
Ainee Jardin, business district manager of Digitel in district 9 covering western and central Pangasinan, told The PUNCH that from the period June to last week alone, there were already 19 cable theft incidents in western Pangasinan and another 40 in central Pangasinan.
“Masyadong rampant. Papalitan ng bago tapos hindi pa natatapos ikabit ay ninanakaw uli,” Jardin said.
In 2008, there were 79 recorded cable thefts involving Digitel’s wires resulting in millions of pesos losses to the company and disruptions in services among its subscribers.
One of the affected subscribers was the police provincial office whose service was disrupted for several months after cables that linked to the office were stolen. This prompted Senior Supt. Percival Barba, the police director, to threaten to file a case against Digitel if lines were not restored quickly.
Digitel’s service has been restored with the completion of the re-installation of new cables.
Towns with the most number of cable theft incidents are: Binmaley (eight), Mangaldan (seven), Manaoag (six), Lingayen (five) and Dagupan City (four).
Jardin called on the mayors of these areas to help the company address the problem.
She recalled how Urdaneta City Mayor Amadeo Perez Jr. in the past issued a shoot-to-kill order for cable thieves following the high incidents in the city. The order proved effective in stopping the cable thefts in the city.
Jardin also urged active community participation by monitoring junk shops that buy the stolen items. #
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