The Central Negros Electric Cooperative will file cases against persons engaged in electricity theft at the Bacolod North Public Cemetery and at nearby houses if the evidence warrants, its acting general manager Arnel Lapore said Thursday, October 26.
CENECO has sent a team to the area to check the extent of the pilferage and to determine where the illegal connections were made, he said.
Houses, some within mausoleums for the dead, at the Bacolod North Public Cemetery were demolished by the City Legal Office (CLO) enforcement team this week, and the illegal electricity connections were discovered.
Wires from streetlights to houses near the cemetery were also seen.
Electricity theft cases will be filed if the evidence warrants, Lapore said.
Under Republic Act 7832 (Anti-Electricity Pilferage Act of 1994) stealing electricity is punishable up to 12 years imprisonment.*