Ex-legal officer appointed as TF Boltahe's counsel
City Legal Office (CLO) head Atty. Edgar Gil has designated Atty. Milagros Hechanova as the counsel for the Task Force Boltahe in all the complaints filed against the violators of anti-power pilferage act.
Atty. Hechanova served as City Legal Officer during the time of former Mayor Mansueto Malabor.
The task force has already filed some 20 complaints before the City Prosecutors Office (CPO).
Gil said the appointment of Hechanova is in response to the request of Engr. Salvador Pedregosa, head of the task force, on the legal support they need when called by the prosecutors office for the preliminary investigation. Hechanova will take responsibility of all the cases filed by the task force starting May 1.
Gil said the legal office will recommend for the filing of the complaint against the violators if the evidence warrants. As much as possible, the city wants to press charges against the violators to deter others from committing pilferage in the city's different installations.
Before, the city only imposed penalties among the violators. The move, however, did not stop the people from installing illegal connections on streetlights, gyms, schools, markets, barangay halls and in freedom grandstand, he said.
He also urged barangay officials to become a model in the city's campaign against illegal connections. It can be noted that some of those found to be tapping electricity from city's facilities are barangay officials as well as their families.
The city is running after those individuals who are illegally tapping electrical connections to the city's properties as it increased the electrical bills of the city government. The city government pays millions of pesos every month for its electrical bills.