Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS,
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 7190

Introduced by HON. GUS S. TAMBUNTING

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to require all electric, cable and telecommunications
companies to conduct periodic inspections of their respective aerial utility line
installations and to fix or remove all old unused aerial utility lines to ensure
strict compliance with the standards and regulations provided under the
Philippine Electrical Code.

One of the greatest ironies in the present world where everything seems
to go wireless, is to see the grotesquely tangled mess of aerial wires and cables
that hang from the utility posts of our towns and cities. Over the years, the
accumulation of wires and cables, and the absence of regular inspection and
monitoring by the utility companies, have caused some utility posts to lean and
collapse, unable to support the excessive load of utility wires. Oftentimes, these
wires and cables pose dangers to the life and limbs of the people in the area.

It is for this reason that this measure is proposed to mandate all electric,
cable and telecommunications companies like MERALCO, PLDT, Bayantel,
Skycable, to conduct periodic inspection of their respective aerial utility line
installations, and ensure strict compliance with the standards and regulations
under the Philippine Electrical Code. The proposed law will also require
government agencies exercising jurisdiction over these installations to monitor
the height clearance requirements for the safety of the public.

In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnest

GUS S. TAMBUNTING


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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 7190

Introduced by HON. GUS S. TAMBUNTING

AN ACT

REQUIRING ALL ELECTRIC, CABLE AND
TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMPANIES TO CONDUCT PERIODIC
INSPECTIONS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE AERIAL UTILITY LINES
AND CABLE INSTALLATIONS, AND TO FIX OR REMOVE ALL
THEIR UNUSED LINES TO ENSURE STRICT COMPLIANCE WITH
THE STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS PROVIDED UNDER THE
PHILIPPINE ELECTRICAL CODE

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

SECTION 1. All electric, cable and telecommunications companies are
required to perform the following:

(a) | Conduct periodic inspections of their respective aerial utility line
installations;

(b) Fix and bundle-up its sagging or dangling aerial utility lines;

(c) Remove all rotted, old or unused aerial utility lines and utility
posts; and

(d) Strictly adhere and ensure strict 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


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Commission pursuant to the mandate vested upon the Board under Republic Act
No. 7920, also known as the “New Electrical Engineering Law.”

SEC. 2. All cities and municipalities, through their respective city or
municipal engineers, or any person authorized by the city or municipality to act
on their behalf, shall ensure that every utility companies, within their territorial
jurisdiction, comply with the provision of Section 1 of this Act. The city or
municipality may withhold the renewal of the corresponding business licenses
or permits for erring companies that fail to comply with the standards set forth
in RA 7920 and its implementing rules and regulations.

SEC. 3. The city or municipal engineer, or the authorized representative
of such city or municipality, in addition to the authority to withhold the grant or
renewal of licenses or business permits, may file a complaint against the
electric, cable and telecommunications company which fails to conduct periodic
inspection of its respective aerial utility line installations or to fix or bundle up
its utility lines or remove all old and unused lines in violation of the standards
and regulations provided under the Philippine Electrical Code before the court
of competent jurisdiction. An administrative complaint under the Local
Government Code, may likewise be filed by any person against the city or
municipal engineer who fails to monitor the compliance of electric, cable and
telecommunications companies with the standards and regulations provided

under the Philippine Electrical Code.


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SEC. 4. 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, the electric, cable or
telecommunications company which violates the provisions of Section 1 of this
Act, shall be punished with a fine of not less than One hundred thousand pesos
(P100,000.00) but not more than Two hundred fifty thousand pesos
(P250,000.00) for the first offense; 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 second offense; and 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 third and succeeding offenses.

SEC. 5. The Secretary of Interior and Local Government shall, in
coordination and consultation with the Secretaries of Information and
Communications Technology, Public Works and Highways, and the Board of
Electrical Engineering, issue the necessary rules and regulations for the
effective implementation of this Act.

SEC. 6. All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations, or
parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed,
amended or modified accordingly.

SEC. 7. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in
the Official Gazette or in a national newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,