Parts of Camp Aguinaldo still without power

MANILA, Philippines –Officers of the military’s main headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo tried to restore electricity in three offices that have been languishing without power for over a month but were unsuccessful.

Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Colonel Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said authorities installed three transformers on an electric pole near the AFP Grandstand Saturday but one of the devices malfunctioned.

“There was a test-run but one of the transformers encountered a problem,” he told reporters in a press briefing.

It was not clear whether the transformers were brand new.

Personnel on duty said that the transformers only worked for an hour.

The offices have been going without electricity for more than a month now after its power transformers were hit by lightning amid a heavy downpour on May 4.

Hit by the power outage were personnel barracks, the Public Affairs Office, Women’s Auxiliary Corps, the Defense Press Corps office, the Del Pilar Lounge – a holding area for VIPs during important ceremonies – and the audio-visual room.

This has compelled the Public Affairs Office, which supposedly operates on a 24-hour basis, to use a generator.

The generator consumes as much as 80 liters of diesel fuel or at least P3,000 a day.

Burgos said they are trying to restore electricity as soon as possible.