Mabel raises concern over electrical burn incidents

DAVAO City Councilor Maria Belen Acosta, who chairs the Committee on Peace and Public Safety, expressed her apprehensions on the rise of electrical burn incidents in Davao City involving high voltage electrical wires and is pushing for an ordinance to promote an electrically safe environment.

Acosta said electrical burn injury is fatal and could also lead to permanent disability on the affected parts of the body that made contact with the high voltage powerline.

“There has been an inDAVAO crease in incidents na nakukuryente. Alam mo they showed us some photos of the actual patients, karumal-dumal talaga ayaw mo talagang mangyari sa iyo grabe ang burn patients kasi mamatay talaga ang affected area,” she told the media.

This alarming case was raised to her through a letter by the head Burn unit of the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) Dr. Rizal Aportadera, who has noted a significant increase in the first quarter of the year and sought the help of the government to address

these. However, Acosta was not able to give the numbers.

“The ordinance would want na hindi pa dumami at sana maprevent pa,” she said.

They already conducted a committee hearing where they invited the representatives from the Davao Light company since they are the ones who install high voltage wires. To be invited too are workers of construction companies.

“It turns out doon sa committee hearing, the big construction companies have safety standards, gumagawa sila ng safety standards kasi they have to conform with the Dole [Department of Labor and Employment],” she said. The concern is more on the informal workers who do not have contracts and just accept contracts from neighbors and residents.

Thus, she wants to involve barangay officials to check residents who have ongoing construction projects whether the workers have the safety equipment.

“Ang gusto sana ni Doctor Aportadera is ma-involve ang mga barangay officials because they are the first ones to know kung ang mga nag-renovate ng bahay, kung sino ang gumagawa ng bahay na walang safety standards,” she said.