Land claim imperils Mindanao power

ILIGAN CITY—Owners of the land in Lanao del Sur where power transmission towers stand are demanding at least P40 million in what they said were unpaid rent before they allow repairmen to enter their lots to fix a vital facility toppled by a bomb on Dec. 24.

The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) described Tower No. 25 in Ramain town in Lanao del Sur as part of the Agus 2-Kibawe 138-kilovolt line, supplying most areas in the southern portion of Mindanao with electricity.

Melfrance Capulong of NGCP-Southern Mindanao said the Agus 2 hydro facilities are connected to the Mindanao grid through the Agus 2-Kibawe 138KV line.

“The line has been unserviceable since Christmas Eve when it was bombed,” she said.

Capulong said the Sambitori siblings, who owns the land where the tower is located, have been refusing entry to NGCP linemen who are to repair the damaged transmission facility.

Capulong said negotiations with the Sambitoris were unsuccessful because the owners are saying that their claims for compensation for the use of their land for power transmission have not been paid since the 1970s.

Capulong did not say how much the Sambitoris are demanding but Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong said the siblings want P40 million in compensation.

“The landowners have been waiting to be paid for the past 43 years, but nothing happened,” said Adiong.

Adiong said in a meeting on Friday that landowners and power officials agreed to have the land surveyed to determine its value.

The governor, however, said the landowners are steadfast on being paid first before allowing NGCP linemen inside their lots.

Capulong said “if the situation persists,” Mindanao faces a “grid collapse.”

She said if the facility is not repaired, “no power will flow” from the Agus hydro facility to southern parts of Mindanao.

“The resulting imbalance may cause the system to collapse,” said Capulong.  Richel Umel and Edwin Fernandez, Inquirer