Cebu City to manage kite flying after CCLEX incident, power disruptions

As summer peaks with favorable winds for kite flying, Cebu City is set to regulate the activity due to a recent accident near the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) and multiple power outages. 

Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway Corporation (CCLEC) has tightened its safety measures following an incident that involved a 22-year-old civil engineering student having his neck sliced by a loose nylon kite string while riding a motorcycle on CCLEX last April 22.

Kite flying has since been strictly prohibited on any part of the 8.9-kilometer expressway.

Engineer Allan Alfon, president and general manager of CCLEC, emphasized that kite flying has never been allowed within the expressway.

“Regarding kite flying, there may be a misconception among some people that those flying kites are inside CCLEX, we really do not allow that there are people flying kites there inside,” Alfron said in Cebuano.

He also said that on-site personnel and emergency response teams are regularly deployed to quickly clear hazards such as stray kite strings along the roadway.

Meanwhile, Visayan Electric (VECO) linked kite flying to about 20 power outages in Barangay Mambaling as broken kites carried strings into high-voltage lines, risking electrocution.

Other disruptions also hit Barangay Pasil, Duljo-Fatima, and routes to Busay.

“I encourage not to hurt others and not to fly their kites too high. Children tend to fight and compete with each other,” City Mayor Nestor Archival said.

Instead of banning kite flying, Archival, in coordination with VECO, plans to have designated areas like South Road Properties for safe flying.

The city will focus on strengthening its information campaign over the coming weeks before deciding on formal regulations.

“I am looking into whether this is acceptable because people might get upset since this is also their form of recreation. So in the next one to two weeks, we will inform the parents and coordinate with the barangay captains to regulate this. We will see if there are no more accidents,” Archival said.

Neighboring Mandaue City has also strengthened its safety measures.

Mandaue City Councilor Carlo Pontico Fortuna passed a resolution regulating kite flying following the CCLEX incident, introducing guidelines on allowable materials to reduce the risk of accidents and injuries.

The resolution promotes cotton strings on kites over nylon or glass-coated “manja”, and enforces fines up to P5,000 for those who will violate.

While Cebu City is monitoring to clear potential hazards, officials advised the public to avoid flying kites near roads, bridges, and power lines, and to take note of public advisories to help prevent further incidents.