Tower falls in another bomb blast

COTABATO CITY—A powerful explosion toppled another transmission tower in North Cotabato on Sunday night, triggering a massive power outage in the province and its neighbor, Maguindanao, including Cotabato City.

No one was reported hurt, officials said.

Capt. Joanne Petinglay, chief of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division public affairs office, said the blast brought down the No. 42 steel tower of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) in Barangay (village) Batulawan in Pikit town.

On Jan. 13, homemade bombs blew up in Pagalungan town in Maguindanao, damaging NGCP Tower No. 26 between the boundary of Barangays Galakit and Layog.

The government has yet to establish the identities of the perpetrators, but charged that members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) were behind the bomb attacks. The BIFF has consistently denied the allegations, asserting that it only targets military personnel and installations.

The area of the explosions is known to be a territory of the BIFF.

Led by Ameril Umra Kato, the BIFF broke away from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front over serious disagreements on the conduct of the peace negotiations with the government. Edwin O. Fernandez and Karlos Manlupig, Inquirer Mindanao