The local government of Samal Island is going strict with hazardous dangling wires in the city after two students were electrocuted and one of them died.

The two were electrocuted while playing inside the premises of Mambago-B National High School on August 19, 2025. Police said the two students, 14 and 15 years old, came into contact with a live wire.

The 14-year-old student died.

Because of this, Samal Island Mayor Lemuel Reyes issued an order on August 27, 2025 mandating the inspection, monitoring, reporting, and abatement of hazardous wires and other dangling, tangled, unused, or damaged lines and cables in all barangays.

“Spaghetti wires or dangling cables not only have become an eyesore which divest the city of its tropical and natural beauty, but also, pose safety and health hazard among residents, which may cause fire, accidents, and disasters,” the order reads.

The order emphasized the role of the barangay local government units in ensuring public safety against hazardous wires and cables.

Under the order, all utility companies and internet providers using wires or cables are directed to observe the minimum vertical clearance and to cooperate in the operations of the barangay LGUs and the city government.

“It is apparently observed that various utility/service/internet providers had been practicing improper and indiscriminate installation of communication lines, wires, and internet cables resulting in so-called ‘spaghetti wires’ or dangling cables along the streets, sidewalks, alleys, and public roads in the city,” the order reads.

Meanwhile, the Northern Davao Electric Cooperative, Inc. (NORDECO) said the wire the students came in contact with is not its property.

According to a report by GMA Super Radyo Davao, NORDECO said in a statement that based on a joint investigation conducted by the cooperative, the local government, and the City Public Safety Office, the incident was caused by a tire wire tied by a telecommunications provider to its fiber-optic cable.

This wire made contact with a streetlight line, which then grounded on a utility pole that was also carrying internet cables.

The internet cables reportedly became entangled with live insulated wires inside the school and were left hanging.

The cooperative expressed its sympathies to the family of the student who died and extended its apologies to the family of the injured student.

This week, face-to-face classes at Mambago-B National High School have resumed after the City Engineering Office inspected the school and confirmed its compliance with stability, electrical and mechanical safety, sanitation, and fire protection standards.