Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila
TWENTIETH CONGRESS

First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by Representative Jurdin Jesus M. Romualdo

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This is a refiled bill from the 19" Congress and was filed by Rep. Mark O. Go wherein |
was one of his co-authors for | have a similar bill on the same subject.

This bill was approved by the House of Representatives on Third Reading on August 7,
2024 and was transmitted on the same day to the Senate. However, it remained pending
at the Committee level.

We have in mind here the safety and protection of lives and properties as well as ensure
the general welfare of the people who are recipients of various services by utility providers
such as from electric distribution utilities, cable providers, and telecommunications
companies.

We are accustomed to seeing on the streets of urbanized centers dangling wires of
various sorts from poles which were installed and attached to these poles to provide
connection from the source to the household or business clients’ area. However, these
lines and poles ought to be maintained well by these providers as pole owners also collect
fees to any provider that will use its structured poles which are sometimes made of wood,
cement or steel.

It is high time that we implement a sound maintenance for all types of utility pole, line,
cable, equipment and accessories in the delivery of various services from these providers
to their respective clients and promote good housekeeping practices.

Key provisions of the bill includes:

1. Requiring of periodic inspection of overhead distribution and communication lines

in compliance with the standard clearance provided in the Philippine Electoral
Code;

2. Requiring alll electric distribution, cable, and telecommunication line providers to
maintain good housekeeping and implement sound maintenance programs in all
their service areas;

3. Mandating local government units shall ensure that every electric distribution,
cable, and telecommunication company within their territorial jurisdiction shall
comply with the standards provided in the Philippine Electoral Code;

4. Amonitoring and service team shall be created composed of the city or municipal
engineering office and representatives from these utility companies shall, in
coordination with, the barangay or DPWH, whichever is applicable, to perform
immediate and necessary clean-up operations and maintenance of overhead
electric lines, cables, utility poles, equipment, and accessories in compliance with
the provisions of this Act.

5. An inter-agency committee composed of ERC as Chairperson, and


representatives from DPWH, DILG, DICT, NTC, TRANSCO, NEA, DHUSD and
LGU's and from public utility providers shall be created to set the prescribed
standards in the overhead installation of lines, cables, utility poles, equipment, and
accessories, including monitoring and conducting periodic inspection to ensure
compliance of the provisions of this Act;

6. Violations to any provisions of this Act shall be meted with various penalties of the
Civil Code under Article 2176 on quasi-delict and criminal negligence under Article
365 of the Criminal Code with corresponding fines;

7. A Joint Congressional Oversight Committee shall be created to monitor the
effective implementation of this Act.

Let us make our communities and streets safe from overhead hazards which has caused
injuries and deaths aside from damages to properties. Let us be responsive citizens
mindful of our duties and report immediately overhead hazards to appropriate offices to
avoid injury to lives and damage to properties. Let us encourage these service utility
providers to be responsible of their overhead installations.

Your support and favorable approval of this bill is earnest\Sought.

JURD} [US M. ROMUALDO


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila
TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO.___64

Introduced by Representative Jurdin Jesus M. Romualdo

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 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. — \t 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

¢) Promote good housekeeping and implement sound maintenance of utility poles,
lines, cables, equipment and accessories in the conduct and delivery of services by
electric, 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 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) Remove unused poles, relocate obstructing poles along carriageways/public roads, and
replace damaged or rotten utility poles; and

e) Strictly adhere to and ensure compliance with the standards and regulations provided


under the Philippine Electrical Code (PEC), 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 (RA) No. 7920, or the "New Electrical
Engineering Law".

SEC. 4. Joint Use of Structures, - The joint use of structures shall be encouraged 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.

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.

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 RA 7160,
as amended, or the ‘Local Government Code", enact an ordinance governing the overhead
installation of electric distribution lines, cables and utility poles, in accordance with the Electrical
Code, National Building Code (NBC) and RA 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 regulations 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 RA
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 for erring electric distribution, cable and telecommunications companies.


The public utilities shall notify the LGU concerned on violations on the issuance of building
permits for non-compliance with the rules and the standards on setbacks and clearances under
the Philippine Electrical Code (PEC), the NBC, and RA 11361, as provided in this Act.

SEC. 6. Installation of Overhead Electric Distribution Lines, Cables and Utility Poles and
Standard Requirements. - Ail installation of overhead electric distribution lines, 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),
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 shalt
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
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 a Monitoring and Service Team. - A Monitoring and Service Team, led
by the city or municipal engineer, whichever is applicable, and composed of representatives from
the pole owners and the electric distribution, cable, and telecommunications companies, shall, in
coordination with the barangay, city, 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 removal or correction of lines, cables, and utility poles shall be performed by the concerned
utilities. 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 the Monitoring and Service Team. - The Monitoring and Service Teams of
electric distribution, cable, and telecommunications companies shall conduct a semi-annual
inspection to check compliance 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 lines, cables and utility poles.

Electric distribution, cable, 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. Prior to the implementation of the
construction project, the implementing government agency or private entity of a construction

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project shall inform and coordinate with the electric distribution, cable, or telecommunication
company concerned for the reinforcement or relocation of its lines, cables, utility poles, equipment
and accessories. The cost of reinforcing or relocating such lines, cables, utility poles, equipment
and accessories shall be shouldered by the implementing agency or private entity of the
construction project.

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
ROW, or by the private concessionaire, as the case may be.

A real-time inspection and monitoring shall be done in cases of emergencies and calamities

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 the Interior and
Local Government (DILG), Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT),
National Telecommunications Company (NTC), National Transmission Corporation (TransCo),
National Electrification Administration (NEA), Department of Human Settlements and Urban
Development (DHUSD) and representatives from the LGUs and public utilities, 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,
may 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
(PI,000,000.00) for the second offense; and a fine of not less than One million pesos

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(P!,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.

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 JCOC 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 designated 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 Houses 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, DHUSD, Institute of
Electronics Engineers of the Philippines (IECEP), 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. 14. 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. 15. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof,
which are inconsistent with or contrary to the provisions of this Act, are hereby repealed, amended
or modified accordingly.

SEC. 16. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the
Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,