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Republic of the Philippines pisdsuis9 =
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES pecs 2

3:16 pm

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO.4428

Introduced by Representative Rex Gatchalian

AN ACT
MANDATING THE PROPER INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE OF
OVERHEAD ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION, COMMUNICATION LINES, AND
STRUCTURES BY ALL ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION, CABLE, AND
TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES FOR PURPOSES OF PUBLIC
SAFETY AND GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

EXPLANATORY NOTE

In 2019, at least 60,000 electric poles nationwide have been in the middle of
the roads and caused obstruction.! These were mostly caused by road

widenings implemented without first relocating the electric poles affected.

Unfortunately, these obstructions caused accidents that lead to damages to
property and loss of lives of motorists. Just recently, a couple were
hospitalized after their vehicle accidentally hit an electrical pole in the middle
of the road.?

This bill aims to make electric distribution, cable and telecommunications
companies responsible for the safety of life and property of their clients in the
conduct and delivery of services. This bill requires them to (1) conduct

periodic inspection of electric and communication lines, (2) Fix and bundle-

* Job Manahan, ‘Lack of coordination’: Around 60,000 electric poles caused road obstruction nationwide,
Gatchalian says. See https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/11/19/20/lack-of-coordination-around-60000-electric-
poles-cause-road-obstruction-nationwide-gatchalian-says.

? Jay Nelz, Vehicle Accidentally Hits Electrical Pole in the Middle of the Road. See
https://philnews.ph/2022/08/08/vehicle-accidentally-hits-electrical-pole-middle-road/.


up dangling lines, (3) Remove unused overhead lines, (4) Replace all unused,
misplaced, damaged and rotten utility poles, and strictly adhere to and ensure
compliance with the standards and regulations provided by law.

REX GATCHALIAN
Representative
istrict, Valenzuela City


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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 4428

_————————————

Introduced by Representative Rex Gatchalian

AN ACT
MANDATING THE PROPER INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE OF
OVERHEAD ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION, COMMUNICATION LINES, AND
STRUCTURES BY ALL ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION, CABLE, AND
TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES FOR PURPOSES OF PUBLIC
SAFETY AND GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines
in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Proper
Installation and Maintenance of Overhead Electric Distribution and

Communication Lines Act”.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of the
State to:
a) Ensure the safety and protection of life and property;
b) Uphold the general welfare; and
c) Promote good housekeeping and implement sound maintenance of
utility poles, lines, cables, equipment and accessories in the
conduct and delivery of services by electric distribution, cable, and

telecommunications companies to their clients.

SEC. 3. Responsibility of Electric Distribution, Cable, and
Telecommunications Companies. ~ It shall be the responsibility of electric
distribution, cable, and telecommunications companies to safeguard life and
property in the conduct and delivery of services to their clients.

All electric distribution, cable and telecommunications companies shall


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ensure public safety and prepare contingencies for calamities or any
unforeseen event that may cause harm, expose a person to peril and cause
damage to property, by undertaking necessary precautionary measures to
prevent the same. Electric distribution, cable, and telecommunications
companies shall implement sound maintenance programs in all their service
areas. Toward this end, all electric distribution, cable, and
telecommunications companies shall perform the following:

(a) Conduct periodic inspection of overhead electric distribution and
communication lines, in compliance with the standard clearance
under the Philippine Electrical Code Part 2 (PEC 2) and as provided
for in this Act or its implementing rules and regulations;

(b) Fix and bundle-up dangling overhead secondary and communication
lines;

(c) Remove unused overhead electric distribution and communication
lines;

(d) Replace all unused, misplaced, damaged and rotten utility poles; and

(c) Strictly adhere to and ensure compliance with the standards and
regulations provided under the Philippine Electrical Code, as
approved and adopted by the Board of Electrical Engineering of the
Professional Regulation Commission pursuant to the mandate vested
upon the Board under Republic Act No. 7920, otherwise known as
the “New Electrical Engineering Law”.

SEC. 4. Joint Use of Structures. - The joint use of structures shall be
considered for circuits along highways, roads, streets, and alleys. The choice
between joint use of structures and separate lines shall be determined
through collaborative consideration of all the factors involved, including the
character of circuits, the total number and weight of conductors, tree
conditions, number and location of branches and service drops, structure
conflicts, and availability of right-of-way and other factors as may be provided
in the rules and regulations to be promulgated to implement this Act. Where
such joint use is mutually agreed upon, it shall be subject to the appropriate
grade of construction specified in Article 3.5. of PEC 2.


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SEC. 5. Responsibility of the Local Government Units (LGUs). - All cities
and municipalities shall, through their respective city or municipal engineers
or the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the case of
national roads, ensure that every utility company, within their territorial
jurisdiction, comply with the provisions of Section 3 of this Act. The
Sangguniang Panlungsod or Sangguniang Bayan concerned shall, pursuant
to Republic Act No. 7160, as amended, otherwise known as the Local
Government Code, issued an ordinance governing the overhead installation
of electric distribution lines, cables and utility poles, in accordance with the
Electrical Code, National Building Code and R.A. No. 11361 or the Anti-
Obstruction of Power Lines Act and in consultation with the agencies
concerned.

The city or municipal engineer, or the authorized representative of such
city or municipality shall, in addition to the authority to withhold the grant
or renewal of licenses or business permits, file a complaint against the electric
distribution, cable, or telecommunications company, which fails to conduct
periodic inspection of its respective utility line installations or fix or bundle
up its utility lines or remove all old and unused lines in violation of the
regulation and standards provided for under the PEC 2 before the court of
competent jurisdiction. Any person may file an administrative complaint
against the city or municipal engineer who fails to monitor the compliance of
electric distribution, cable, and telecommunications companies with the
standards and regulations provided under the PEC 2.

Once it has been notified of a possible violation, the city or municipality,
or the DPWH in the case of national roads, shall send notice to the erring
company to allow it to rectify its error within a reasonable time or to explain
its reasons for failure to comply with the standards set forth in Republic Act
No. 7920 and its implementing rules and regulations. Upon failure to rectify
its error or continuous non-compliance without justifiable cause, the city or
municipal engineer, or the DPWH in the case of national roads, may conduct
an investigation, upon due notice to the erring company. A finding of fault by
the authorized person conducting the investigation may result in the
withholding of the renewal of the corresponding business licenses or permits


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for erring electric distribution, cable and telecommunications companies.

The public utilities shall notify the LGU concerned on violations on the
issuance of business permits for non-compliance with the rules and the
standards on setbacks and clearances under the Philippine Electrical Code,
the National Building Code, and the “Anti-Obstruction of Power Lines Act” or
Republic Act No. 11361, as provided in this Act.

SEC. 6. Installation of Overhead Electric Distribution Lines, Cables and
Utility Poles and Standard Requirements. — All installation of overhead electric
distribution liens, cables, and utility poles shall be inspected by the city or
municipal engineer, or the DPWH, whichever is applicable. Installation of
overhead electric distribution lines, cables and utility poles shall conform to
the PEC 2, Philippine Distribution Code (PDC), Distribution Services and
Open Access Rules (DSOAR), National Building Code (NBC), and other
applicable existing local and international standards, of which compliance
shall be ensured by the Inter-Agency Committee under Section 9 of this Act.
The specific location shall be inspected by the engineering officials prior to,
during and after the installation.

In cases where the ideal location of a pole installation is unavailable, the
concerned city or municipal government, or the DPWH, shall assist the pole
owner in identifying and securing the right-of-way (ROW) for alternative pole
locations, at no cost to the government.

Pending the promulgation of standards by the Inter-Agency Committee
under Section 9 of this Act, or a uniform set of requirements by the barangay,
city, or municipal government unit on the overhead installation and
maintenance of electric distribution lines, cables, utility poles, equipment
and accessories, the city or municipal government shall assist the owner of a
facility on issues concerning the same.

SEC. 7. Creation of Monitoring and Service Team. - A Monitoring and
Service Team, led by the city or municipal engineer and composed of
representative from the pole owners and electric distribution, cable, and
telecommunication companies, shall, in coordination with the barangay, city,


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or municipal-engineer or the DPWH, whichever is applicable, be created to
perform the immediate and necessary clean-up operation and maintenance
of overhead electric distribution lines, cables, utility poles, equipment and
accessories in compliance with the provisions of this Act. The clean-up
operation shall commence within six (6) months from the promulgation of the
Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) pursuant to Section 13 of this Act.

SEC. 8. Role of Monitoring and Service Team. - The Monitoring and
Service Teams of electric distribution, cable, and telecommunications
companies shall conduct a semi-annual inspection to check complaint to
Section 3 of this Act and maintenance of their electric distribution lines,
cables, utility poles, equipment and accessories installed in a particular area
for the efficient delivery of their services. Maintenance shall include proper
bundling, casing and replacement of damaged electric distribution lines and
cables, and repair and replacement of utility poles, equipment and
accessories, and retirement of unused electric distribution lines, cables, and
utility poles.

Electric distribution, cables, and telecommunications companies shall
be given a reasonable period of time to relocate and realign displaced lines,
cables, utility poles, equipment and accessories as a result of a public
infrastructure work. The implementing government agency of a construction
project shall inform and coordinate with the electric distribution, cable, or
telecommunication company concerned for the relocation of its lines, cables,
utility poles, equipment and accessories. The cost of relocating such lines,
cables, utility poles, equipment and accessories shall be shouldered by the
implementing agency of the construction project. The implementing
government agency shall provide its plans, specifications and provide utility
corridors for the adequate evaluation of the design, construction, operation,

and maintenance of facilities. All costs that shall be incurred in the necessary
relocation of facilities of the public utilities concerned as a result of such
public infrastructure work shall be borne by the implementing agency or
project proponent as part of its obligation to deliver the right-of-way, or by
the private concessionaire, as the case may be.


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SEC. 9. Inter-Agency Committee. - An Inter-Agency Committee to be
chaired by the ERC and composed of authorized representatives from the
DPWH, Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Department of
Information and Communications ‘Technology (DICT), _ National
Telecommunications Company (NTC), National Transmission Corporation
(TransCo), National Electrification Administration (NEA), and representatives
from the LGUs, is hereby created to set the prescribed standards in the
overhead installation of lines, cables, utility poles, equipment and
accessories, monitor the same and conduct periodic inspection thereof to
ensure compliance thereto and shall jointly plan for the conduct of clean-up
drives, identify issues, prioritize key areas, recommend best practices or way
forward, to ensure compliance of the latter with applicable existing laws, rules
and regulations of relevant agencies /offices of the government, such as the
PEC, the PDC, and the NBC.

The Inter-Agency Committee may invite resource persons, if deemed
necessary, from Professional Regulatory Board of Electrical Engineering
(PRBEE), PRC-Board of Electronics and Communications Engineering (PRC-
BECE), the Institute of Integrated Electrical Engineers of the Philippines
(IEE) and two (2) representatives from the private sector.

SEC. 10. Penalty Provisions. - In addition to the civil liabilities
prescribed by Article 2176 of the Civil Code on quasi-delict and the penalties
prescribed by Article 365 of the Revised Penal Code on criminal negligence,
and unless otherwise provided under special laws, an electric distribution,
cable, or telecommunications company found in violation of any provision of
this Act, shall be punished with a fine of not less than Two hundred fifty
thousand pesos (P250,000.00) but not more than Five hundred thousand
pesos (P500,000.00) for the first offense; a fine of not less than Five hundred
thousand pesos (P500,000.00) but not more than One million pesos
(P1,000,000.00) for the second offense; and a fine of not less than One million
pesos (P1,000,000.00) but not more than Two million pesos (P2,000,000.00)
for the third and succeeding offenses, as may be determined by the court.


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SEC. 11. Joint Congressional Oversight Committee (JCOC). - There is
hereby created a Joint Congressional Oversight Committee to monitor the
effective implementation of this Act, recommend the necessary remedial or
administrative measures and perform such other duties and functions as
may be necessary to attain the objectives of this Act.

The JOCC shall be composed of ten (10) members, with the
Chairpersons of the Committees on Energy of both Houses of Congress as
Co-Chairpersons. The Chairpersons of the House Committee on Information
and Communications Technology and Senate Committee on Public Services
shall be the Co-Vice Chairpersons. An additional three (3) members from each
House, shall be designed by the Senate President and the Speaker of the
House of Representatives, respectively; Provided, That at least one (1) member
from each House shall be nominated by their respective Minority Leaders.
The secretariat of the JCOC shall be the existing secretariat personnel of the
concerned Committees of both House of Congress.

SEC. 12. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The ERC shall, in
consultation with the DPWH, DILG, DICT, NTC, TRANSCO, PRBEE, PRC-
BECE, NEA, IIEE and representatives from the LGUs, the electric
distribution, cable and telecommunications companies, promulgate the
necessary Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) within one hundred
twenty (120) days from the effectivity of this Act.

SEC. 13. Separability Clause. —If, for any reason, any provision of this
Act is declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other provisions hereof, which
are not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

SEC. 14. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, rules and
regulations or part thereof, which are inconsistent with or contrary to the

provisions of this Act, are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

SEC. 15. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.


Approved,