Senator Raffy Tulfo on Wednesday stressed the need to address the problems caused by so-called “spaghetti” wires and cable along EDSA.

In his privileged speech during the Senate Plenary session, Tulfo said his office received several complaints of severe accidents due to the entangled and voluminous wires and cables.

“Four incidents involving just that particular area in EDSA and yet, kinailangan pa po nila pumunta sa aking programa para magsumbong,” he said.

If electric poles will collapse, Tulfo stressed these “spaghetti wires” are also causing terrible traffic systems along highways.

“Just like in the case that was brought to me, it is a risk to life and limb. It poses a real danger to our citizens. Ito lang po is enough to make this matter a national concern,” Tulfo stressed.

In August last year, Tulfo said four electric poles right next to the Binondo Church, had collapsed due to the weight of cable wires.

“Nabagsakan po ang ilang mga sasakyan. Naputol ang kuryente at ibang telco services, kasama ang internet doon sa area na iyon. Pagkatapos po, sinara ang kalye upang maayos ang mga bumagsak na poste kaya nagdulot ng traffic,” he added.

“Damage to property. Just like the one in Binondo, it fell on cars parked along the street. If these wires are not maintained well it is known to cause fires as well,” he continued.

He also noted that the incidents in Binondo also caused electricity and telecommunication interruption.

“When it fell, businesses, including banks, lost their internet. What if hospitals are affected and they experience brownouts for a long period of time, mahirap naman po yun,” he said.

Tulfo lamented a national direction should be imposed to address such concerns as he cited Davao City’s efforts to install cables in the underground.

“And while this is pending, there are some LGUs like in Cebu and Valenzuela, that did a clearing drive in their area of these cables. In Pasig, they had an ordinance, holding telcos and electric companies liable for failure to clear these lines,” he said.

“Maybe we could explore these options so that these spaghetti wires could finally be resolved and no more life could be put at risk,” he added.