UPAS curbs cable theft in Dagupan
THEFT of electricity and cable television wires has been effectively dealt with in Dagupan through the city government’s Unified Pole Attachment Scheme (UPAS) and a related program involving inter-agency cooperation.
Power, telecommunication and cable signal providers in Dagupan lauded the leadership of Mayor Alipio Fernandez Jr. for strengthening efforts to mitigate incidence of these thefts.
“Dagupan is the first and only local government in Pangasinan that has seriously addressed this issue by initiating rotating weekly discussions of our concerns,” said Jose Pablito Timario of Globe Telecom.
The UPAS was originally intended to mark and bundle all wires of various service providers along the city’s major thoroughfares. This was extended to the formation of a task force involving all stakeholders, including government agencies and private companies, to address the cable theft problem.
Renato Balot of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) Company office in Dagupan dubbed UPAS as “an ingenious program,” saying the telephone company has notched zero incidence of theft of phone wires since its inception.
The UPAS task force is composed of representatives from power service provider Dagupan Electric Corp.; telecommunication firms PLDT, Globe, SMART, Bayantel; cable television companies USATV and Skycable; the City Engineering Office; City Planning and Development Office; City Information Office and the Dagupan City Police Station.
City deputy chief of police Gregorio Abungan said incidence of theft of wires have decreased dramatically in recent months and vowed that the police office intends to bring it down further.
“We noticed a significant decline in reported theft of power and cable wires because of heightened surveillance by the police and the community,” Abungan said.
The mayor said members of UPAS task force are set to sign another memorandum of agreement, this time together with local officials from barangay Bonuan Gueset, Bonuan Boquig, Bonuan Binloc, Pantal and Lucao, the areas where thefts have been reported.–CIO
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