Manila: The House of Representatives on Wednesday night approved a measure mandating electric distribution, cable, and telecommunications companies to take full responsibility for the safety, maintenance, and orderly management of overhead power and communications lines. According to Philippines News Agency, with an overwhelming 223 affirmative votes, the proposed House Bill (HB) No. 7565 or the Safe Overhead Electric Distribution, Cable, and Communications Lines Act hurdled the plenary and was passed on final reading. The measure requires utilities to conduct periodic inspections, remove dangling and unused wires, bundle and secure active lines, replace damaged or leaning poles, and ensure proper clearances in accordance with the Philippine Electrical Code, placing the burden squarely on service providers to protect life and property. Companies found violating the law will face escalating penalties, with fines ranging from PHP250,000 to PHP500,000 for a first offense; PHP500,000 to PHP1 million for a secon d offense; and PHP1 million to PHP2 million for the third and succeeding offenses, underscoring the chamber's intent to compel strict compliance. Beyond imposing obligations on utilities, the measure institutionalizes regular and systematic inspections by requiring electric distribution, cable, and telecommunications firms to undertake periodic audits of their overhead lines and to coordinate clean-up and rehabilitation activities within their service areas. To strengthen enforcement at the local level, the bill mandates the creation of a Monitoring and Service Team in every city and municipality, which will conduct semi-annual inspections, oversee the removal of unused cables, and monitor the replacement of defective poles and unsafe installations. Local government units are likewise given a central role in ensuring compliance, with authority to pass implementing ordinances within 60 days from the effectivity of the implementing rules and regulations and to withhold or deny the renewal of business permits of non-compliant utilities operating within their jurisdiction. At the national level, the measure creates an Inter-Agency Committee chaired by the Energy Regulatory Commission, composed of key government agencies and LGU representatives, tasked to set uniform standards, coordinate nationwide clean-up efforts, and monitor adherence to safety requirements. The bill also encourages the joint use of poles and utility structures to reduce visual clutter and improve efficiency, subject to safety and engineering standards, in a bid to rationalize the growing web of overhead lines in densely populated communities. When relocation or reinforcement of cables and poles becomes necessary due to public infrastructure projects, the measure provides that the implementing agency or private project proponent shall shoulder the cost, preventing delays in government works while clarifying financial accountability. In a statement, House Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander 'Sandro' Marcos, one of the principal authors of the measure, emphasized that the bill addresses long-standing safety hazards in communities across the country. "This bill makes it clear that utilities cannot simply leave hazardous wires hanging above our streets. They have the responsibility to maintain safe, orderly, and compliant systems because public safety must always come first," Marcos said. "We are setting uniform standards and meaningful penalties so that compliance becomes the norm, not the exception. This is about protecting lives, safeguarding property, and ensuring that our infrastructure keeps pace with development."