The two men, only identified by their aliases - Edwin, 56, and Emerson, a 37-year-old e-bike driver, were currently in a manhole when the security personnel spotted them hauling a cable around 2:50 a.m. on Thursday.
Confiscated from them were 67 meters of underground copper cables wrapped in foam, valued at P389,031.29 ($7,652.38).
Also seized were a homemade hacksaw, cutters, and an e-bike supposedly intended for transporting the stolen cables.
The two suspects will face charges for violating the Anti-Cable Television and Cable Internet Tapping Act.
Meanwhile, consumer advocacy group CitizenWatch argues that cable thieves should face more severe penalties, considering such acts as economic sabotage.
"No less than the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has said these incidents lead to millions of pesos in losses and service disruptions," said CitizenWatch Philippines co-convenor Orlando Oxales.
Just this year, the NTC reported that there were 1,800 cable thefts nationwide, affecting the internet connection or communication lines of 100,000 customers.
Each incident requiring infrastructure restoration is estimated to cost around ₱2 million pesos ($39,335.10).
