In just one day, on July 6, four men were held for illegal activities linked to stolen cables in separate incidents in Cavite and Quezon City.
Three men were arrested in an entrapment operation in Tanza, Cavite after they were caught with 50 boxes of stolen Globe cables worth around ₱129,000. Police are investigating the source of the cables.
And on Congressional Avenue, Quezon City, a man was arrested for stealing Bayantel copper wires.
These incidents show how cable theft has become daily fare involving telco infrastructure, countered by stronger cooperation between law enforcement and industry players.
From January to June this year, collaboration between Globe and law enforcers has led to the filing of charges against 267 individuals, including third-party contractors, linked to rampant cable theft and other criminal offenses.
Globe continues to intensify its #BantayKable campaign together with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and barangay tanods to address cable cutting and theft that disrupt telecom services in affected areas.
“These deplorable acts not only affect the operations of Globe in delivering services but also severely impact our customers who rely heavily on connectivity for work and school,” Atty. Froilan Castelo, Globe General Counsel.
The Globe Bantay Kable and Quick Response Team said 232 of the 267 suspects charged were involved in stealing copper cables, fiber optic cables, and manhole covers. The remaining 35 were caught stealing in unmanned cell sites.
Broken down, 118 of those arrested were from Luzon, 116 from Visayas, and 13 from Mindanao. They were charged with theft, qualified theft, robbery, violation of the anti-fencing law, malicious mischief, robbery, and violation of the Omnibus Election Code and Republic Act 10515 or the Anti-Cable Television and Cable Internet Tapping Act of 2013.
Minors caught in the operations were turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.
On the other hand, about 41 of the arrested suspects for cable and cell site-related theft were contractors of Globe, while 25 were contractors of other telco providers.
“Globe wants to make sure that these unscrupulous individuals will face the full force of the law as we continue to ramp up our operations together with local authorities and barangay officials,” Castelo said.
Latest data showed a total of 567 reported theft incidents in Globe sites in the first half of 2022, including 306 incidents of copper cable theft and 82 cases of stolen batteries from cell sites. About 5,280 liters of fuel and 10 generator sets were also stolen from various sites nationwide.
To stop or minimize such criminal acts, Globe also encourages the public to immediately report cable theft incidents through its Security Hotline 0906-3244626 or email bantaykable@globe.com.ph.
