Commuters, residents relieved as crew clear dangerous pole on Pampanga road

PAMPANGA, Philippines – After weeks of networking with power utility and telecommunications companies, commuters and pedestrians using the Magalang-Angeles road were treated on Sunday, February 27, to the sight of repair crew replacing a damaged, tilting concrete pole

For more than a week, concerned citizen Shei Cabrera and several residents tried to report the utility pole to the barangay, the municipal disaster risk reduction management office, Pampanga Electric Cooperative 1 (PELCO), and telecommunication companies Converge, Smart, and Globe.

Rappler also contacted the various agencies and firms to trace the Barangay San Francisco problem as residents cited the dangers of drooping live wires and the possibility of the damaged pole toppling over.

On February 27,  Cathay Yang, first vice president of communications of PLDT and Smart, told Rappler that PLDT owns the utility pole.

“We confirm that one of our concrete utility poles along Magalang-Angeles road sustained damage,” Yang stated.

“We have since coordinated the removal of the live electrical wires, which PELCO 1 (Pampanga Electric Cooperative) completed yesterday. We are due to remove the broken pole and replace it with a new one today, February 27,” she added.

“Relieved na kami at atin na peace of mind na ali naka mag worry na baka atin pa alwang madisgrasya keng posteng ayta,” Cabrera told Rappler on Monday, February 28.

(We feel relieved now and we have peace of mind that we don’t have to worry before any accidents may occur because of that pole.)

Rappler had contacted PELCO 1 area engineer Jerrymie Galvan on February 25.  

“Itang poste karin telecom ya, ali ku siguradu nung Innove ya or Globe pero ali ya pu PELCO. Ala kaming maka-attach a linya karin anya ali mi ya pwedeng taginan,” said the engineer.

(“The post there is from a telecom company. I am not sure if it’s Innove or Globe but it is not PELCO. We don’t have any wires attached to it so we cannot move it.”)

Yang thanked the concerned residents and encouraged customers to report these incidents to their official Facebook social media page, PLDT Home, to ensure immediate action.

The Magalang police station said its San Nicolas 2 database showed no reports of accidents linked to the damaged utility pole. – Rappler.com

Joann Manabat is a Luzon-based journalist and an awardee of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship.