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Prosperidad illegal 

tapping, too

Another barangay hall has been found violating R.A. 7832 or the Anti-Electricity Pilferage Law.

Prosperidad Barangay Hall which has been operating since 2011 still uses electricity tapped from a meter for the street lighting. The sub-connection was recently discovered by VMC Rural Electric Service Cooperative, Inc. (VRESCO) and the City Engineer's Office but both agencies have not taken an action on the matter yet.

Unlike the case of Barangay Guadalupe, though, the meter where the sub-connection was tapped is active thus, the city government is paying for the electricity that the Prosperidad Barangay Hall is consuming.

Prosperidad Barangay Captain Meliton Unabia admitted during a telephone interview with NRWP that since 2011, the barangay hall with its health center is using electricity tapped from the street light. Unabia, however, added that in that same year, Barangay Prosperidad applied for a legitimate VRESCO connection and account but it was not finished because electrical connections in their area have not yet been fixed.

Prior to the street light sub-connection, Unabia maintained that electricity for the barangay hall was tapped from his own house and that he had paid for the bills personally.

Engr. Roland Balandra, head of the Electrical Division of the City Engineer's Office, explained that the electrical sub-connection was not yet cut to prevent paralyzing the operations of the barangay hall.                             Two personal computers, two laptop computers, an electric fan, a refrigerator, and broken lights are in the barangay hall. Unabia said that the building does not consume much electricity since the lights are broken and the refrigerator is only used when there are vaccines that need to be stored by health workers.

The barangay captain reported that City Mayor Gerardo Valmayor told him over a meeting last May 6, Sunday, that Prosperidad has to get its own connection soon and be responsible for its own consumption because the LGU has been paying huge amounts for electricity already.

A source at VRESCO told NRWP that whatever are the circumstances, Prosperidad's connection is illegal based on R.A. 7832, Section 2 that says it is "Illegal use of Electricity" when "one taps, makes or causes a connection to be made with overhead lines, service drops, or other electric service wires, without previous authority or consent of the private electric utility or rural electric cooperative concerned."

The said barangay's new application to VRESCO is already on the table.