Republic of the Philippines
SANGGUNIANG PANLUNGSOD
City Government of Naga

ORDINANCE NO. 2026-100

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTIONS 6, 7, AND 8 OF ORDINANCE NO. 2025-048, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE “UNDERGROUND CABLING PLUS” ORDINANCE, CORRESPONDINGLY AMENDING SECTION 12 OF ORDINANCE NO. 2022-064, ADDING M.T. VILLANUEVA AVENUE AND PENAFRANCIA AVENUE AS PRIORITY AREAS, ADOPTING A COORDINATED “DIG ONCE” RULE, CLARIFYING THE COMPOSITION, QUORUM, AND DECISION-MAKING AUTHORITY OF THE UNDERGROUND CABLING TASK FORCE, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Author: Hon. Jessie R. Albeus, D.M.D.

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Be it ordained by the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Naga, that:

SECTION 1. AMENDMENT OF SECTION 6 (PRIORITY AREAS). Section 6 of Ordinance No. 2025-048 is hereby amended to read as follows:

SECTION 6. PRIORITY AREAS. — The following areas in Naga City are hereby declared as priority areas: a. Central Business District I / Centro Naga b. Central Business District II c. Panganiban Drive to Del Rosario-Pili Boundary d. Magsaysay Lifestyle District e. Diversion Area Development Center f. M.T. Villanueva Avenue g. Penafrancia Avenue
The exact technical boundaries and endpoints of the priority areas under paragraphs (f) and (g) shall be shown in a certified map and technical description prepared or validated by the City Engineer’s Office and the City Planning and Development Office.
Provided, That the declaration of M.T. Villanueva Avenue and Penafrancia Avenue as priority areas shall not, by itself, fix the transfer period applicable to the power provider. The period for transfer of power facilities shall be determined in accordance with Section 5 of Ordinance No. 2025-048, after due deliberation on the technical and feasibility study jointly conducted by the UCTF and the concerned power provider, subject to approval of the City Mayor and ratification by the Sangguniang Panlungsod.

SECTION 2. AMENDMENT OF SECTION 7 (PROHIBITED ACTS/DIG ONCE). — Section 7 of Ordinance No. 2025-048 is hereby amended by adding paragraph (e), to read as follows:

e. Repeated, unnecessary, or uncoordinated excavation of the same road, sidewalk, or right-of-way segment for the installation, relocation, improvement, expansion of or underground utility facilities after a compliant conduit or utility corridor has been established therein, where such excavation can reasonably be avoided through coordination, co-location, shared use, or use of available and technically feasible conduit capacity.
Provided, that this prohibition shall not apply to:

1. 1. emergency or urgent works necessary to protect life, property, public safety, or to restore essential utility services, which shall be governed by the emergency-repair provisions of Ordinance No. 2025-048;
   2. necessary maintenance, rehabilitation of damaged or defective facilities where replacement, repair, or technically feasible non-excavation alternative exists;
   3. capacity expansion, network improvement, or technology upgrade where the existing conduit or utility corridor is technically unavailable, unsuitable, or insufficient;
   4. road, drainage, water, telecommunications, or other public or utility works that independently require excavation and cannot reasonably be performed through existing facilities; or
   5. the independent installation or improvement of a conduit for data transmissions services when allowed under Section 17 of Republic Act No. 12234, otherwise known as the Konektadong Pinoy Act, and its implementing rules and issuances.

All excavation allowed under the foregoing exceptions shall remain subject to applicable permits and approvals of the competent authorities, engineering and safety standards, road and sidewalk restoration requirements, and prior coordination and information-sharing requirements under Republic Act No. 12234 and applicable national and local rules.

Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prevent lawful independent conduit works expressly permitted by national law.

SECTION 3. AMENDMENT OF SECTION 8 OF ORDINANCE NO. 2025-048 AND CORRESPONDING AMENDMENT OF SECTION 12 OF ORDINANCE NO. 2022-064. — Section 8 of Ordinance No. 2025-048 is hereby amended to read follows. Section 12(a) and paragraph (H) of Section 12(b) of Ordinance No. 2022-064 are correspondingly amended or superseded to the extent necessary to conform to this Section:

SECTION 8. UNDERGROUND CABLING TASK FORCE. — The Inter-Agency Task Force created under Section 12 of Ordinance No. 2022-064 is hereby continued and renamed as the Underground Cabling Task Force (UCTF). The UCTF shall lead the planning, coordination, technical regulation, implementation, monitoring, and enforcement of the City’s underground cabling program, subject to the powers expressly lodged by law or ordinance in other City offices and national government agencies.

(a) Composition. — The UCTF shall be composed as follows:

• Chairperson: City Engineer
• Co-Chair: Information and Technology Officer
• Member: City Planning and Development Coordinator (CPDO)
• Member: City Legal Officer
• Member: City Treasurer
• Member: City Assessor
• Member: City Environment and Natural Resources Officer
• Member: Public Safety Officer
• Member: General Services Officer
• Member: Culture, Heritage and Arts Officer (on concerns related to the heritage district)
• Member: Investment, Trade and Promotions Officer

(b) Secretariat. — The City Planning and Development Office shall serve as the Secretariat of the UCTF and shall be responsible for meeting notices and agendas, minutes and attendance records, maintenance of the official UCTF records and resolutions, custody and updating of the Unified and Comprehensive Underground Conduit Plan (UCP) and related maps, coordination of stakeholder submissions, and such other secretariat functions as the UCTF may lawfully assign.

(c) Voting Members and Quorum. The Chairperson and the regular City Government members listed in paragraph (a) are the voting members of the UCTF. A majority of all members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of official business. Unless a greater vote is required by law or ordinance, official action shall require the affirmative vote of a majority of the voting members present at a meeting where a quorum exists.

(d) Invited Members and Stakeholder Participation. — Representatives of the Metropolitan Naga Water District (MNWD), CASURECO II, telecommunications, television and cable providers, and other affected utility providers may participate in the UCTF as invited members in a consultative, technical, and stakeholder capacity. They may participate in technical discussions, and the in consultations, inspections, testing, workshops, submission of plans, data, and position papers where their participation is appropriate. Their participation in the formulation of the implementing rules and regulations, as required by Section 13 of Ordinance No. 2022-064, is expressly preserved.

Invited members shall not vote and shall not be counted in determining quorum. They shall not participate in the final deliberation, voting, or determination of any application, compliance finding, citation, penalty, enforcement action, access-fee or cost dispute, or other regulatory matter involving themselves, an affiliated entity, a competitor, or another regulated utility provider. Final regulatory determinations shall be made solely by the voting members of the UCTF, subject to such approval, concurrence, ratification, or action by another office or body as may be required by law or ordinance.

(e) Additional Resource Persons and External Technical Advisers. — The UCTF may recommend to the City Mayor, or invite as appropriate, other persons or representatives of offices or institutions whose participation may assist in the performance of its functions. Such persons shall serve as non-voting resource persons and shall not be counted for quorum unless the membership of the UCTF is subsequently modified by ordinance. An external technical adviser may be invited to assist on engineering, conduit design, interoperability, safety, or related technical matters. Any such adviser shall be non-voting, shall exercise no regulatory decision-making authority, and disclose any direct or indirect financial, contractual, or professional interest in any utility provider, conduit developer or operator, applicant, or other entity affected by a matter before the UCTF. Any compensated engagement shall be undertaken separately in accordance with applicable procurement, budgeting, accounting, and auditing rules.

(f) Powers and Functions. In addition to the functions provided under Section 12(b) of Ordinance No. 2022-064 that are not inconsistent herewith, the UCTF shall have the following functions:

1. Conduct monthly inspections of declared priority areas to monitor compliance by providers of power, telecommunications, television and cable, and other public utilities using wires and poles with the mandate to transfer wires to underground conduits;
2. Cause the issuance of citation tickets, through the Public Safety Office, against covered providers that commit any prohibited act under Section 7 of Ordinance No. 2025-048, as amended, or fail to fully transfer their wires within the applicable period under Section 5 thereof;
3. Institute the necessary cases, through the assistance of the City Legal Office, against covered providers that violate the Ordinance, through the persons made accountable under Section 10 of Ordinance No. 2025-048;
4. Receive, review, and approve, for purposes of compliance with the Underground Cabling Ordinances, applications by power, telecommunications, television and cable, and other public utility providers for the installation, modification, or transfer of underground cabling works within the City of Naga, ensuring compliance with technical standards, safety requirements, the UCP, and applicable implementation timelines; Provided, That such UCTF approval shall not dispense with or replace any permit, clearance, or authorization that by law or ordinance must be issued by the City Engineer’s Office, Office of the Building Official, DPWH, national regulatory agencies, or other competent authority; and
5. Conduct or coordinate, together with the concerned power provider, the technical and feasibility study required under Section 5 of Ordinance No. 2025-048 and recommend the appropriate power-facility transfer period for approval of the City Mayor and ratification by the Sangguniang Panlungsod.

All voting members shall observe applicable laws and ethical rules on conflicts of interest and inhibition. The minutes shall clearly distinguish voting members, invited members, resource persons, and advisers present, and shall record the voting on all official UCTF actions.

SECTION 4. UCP AND IRR HARMONIZATION AND FINALIZATION. — Section 13 of Ordinance No. 2022-064, requiring the preparation of the Unified and Comprehensive Underground Conduit Plan (UCP) as the basis for the implementing rules and regulations (IRR), remains in full force and effect. The UCTF shall immediately proceed with the completion, updating, harmonization, and formal adoption of the UCP and IRR so that they reflect Ordinance No. 2025-048 and this amendatory Ordinance. The process shall document the participation of cable and telecommunications providers and other affected stakeholders, without conferring upon such invited participants voting or regulatory decision-making authority. The UCP and IRR shall specifically address the technical delineation and integrated power/telecommunications treatment of M.T. Villanueva Avenue and Penafrancia Avenue, the Dig Once coordination framework, conduit capacity and interoperability, inspection and testing, service continuity, excavation and restoration requirements, pole decommissioning, records and mapping, and the respective roles of the UCTF and the competent permit-issuing offices.

SECTION 5. INTEGRATED IMPLEMENTATION FOR THE NEW PRIORITY AREAS. — For M.T. Villanueva Avenue and Penafrancia Avenue, the UCTF shall cause the preparation of an integrated inventory of all affected power, telecommunications, television/cable, and other utility facilities and attachments. The UCTF shall coordinate the sequencing of underground migration and pole decommissioning so that no pole carrying active facilities is removed without a technically adequate migration or continuity plan for all affected providers. The power component shall proceed in accordance with the technical and feasibility study and approval process required under Section 5 of Ordinance No. 2025-048.

SECTION 6. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE. If any provision of this Ordinance is declared invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions not affected thereby shall continue in full force and effect.

SECTION 7. REPEALING AND AMENDING CLAUSE. — Ordinance No. 2025-048 and Ordinance No. 2022-064 are hereby amended to the extent expressly provided herein. All ordinances, resolutions, executive issuances, rules, or parts thereof inconsistent with this Ordinance are hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly. All provisions of Ordinance Nos. 2022-064 and 2025-048 not inconsistent herewith shall remain in full force and effect.

SECTION 8. EFFECTIVITY. — This Ordinance shall take effect after its approval and compliance with the publication and posting requirements under applicable law, including publication in a newspaper of local circulation and posting on the official website of the City Government of Naga.

ENACTED: September 22, 2026.

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WE HEREBY CERTIFY to the correctness of the foregoing ordinance.

(SGD) LILIAN PASCUAL
Acting Secretary to the Sangguniang Panlungsod

(SGD) GABRIEL H. BORDADO JR.
City Vice Mayor & Presiding Officer

(SGD) APPROVED: MARIA LEONOR G. ROBREDO
City Mayor