Senate to launch probe into 'spaghetti wires' amid deaths, electrocution

Senator Raffy Tulfo will launch an investigation into reports of electrocutions and other hazardous incidents associated with “spaghetti wires” or deadly power lines.

“Spaghetti wires” is a colloquial term for dangling, tangled masses of overhead cables strung across utility poles, trees, and high-rise buildings.

Tulfo said these wires hanging precariously in urban streets have sparked deadly accidents, such as fire and electrocution, putting the lives of children, pedestrians, commuters, residents, and motorists.

Reports reaching his office include a Grade 3 pupil who got electrocuted after coming into contact with an unsafe wire in late April.

The minor lost both hands and sustained serious injuries.

Unfortunately, a 12-year-old boy in Barangay Magdaia, Imus, Cavite, who suffered the same fate in January last year, did not survive.

In addition, Tulfo said several news reports also document continuing accidents involving poorly maintained utility wires and cables across the country.

“The continued occurrence of such incidents demonstrates the need to identify the owners of hazardous lines, determine the respective responsibilities of utility companies and public authorities, establish clear inspection and reporting mechanisms, and ensure prompt removal, repair, relocation, or securing of unsafe facilities,” Tulfo said.

A bill was filed in the 19th Congress requiring public utility providers to bundle and remove non-operational wires and cables, but the proposed law languished at the committee level.

Despite local ordinances mandating the removal and regulation of spaghetti wires, especially in the metropolis, similar incidents continue to occur.

These chaotic power lines are being blamed on power distributors like Meralco, but it said many actually belong to Internet providers that installed cables on Meralco electric posts unauthorized.

The sheer weight and density of spaghetti wires exceed the structural capacity of utility poles, causing posts to lean or collapse.

Tulfo emphasized that recurring incidents involving spaghetti wires have exposed the need to examine whether existing laws, local ordinances, permit requirements, and inspection systems indeed safeguard communities from hazardous incidents.