Blast causes blackout in Maguindanao

MANILA, Philippines – An improvised explosive device destroyed a tower of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao Sunday night, the military said Monday.

Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Zagala, military spokesman, said the blast occurred in Ladia village, in Sultan Kudarat town.

The incident caused a massive power outage in Maguindanao, but electricity was restored within the day, Zagala said, quoting reports from the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.

A post-blast investigation is being conducted by the military.

The NGCP in its Twitter account said that power in Kibawe-Sultan Kudarat was out since Sunday evening.

“NGCP is still checking the cause of outage as the ongoing encounter between MILF [and] Army troops near the area has prevented NGCP from conducting line patrol and repair works,” NGCP posted at about 8 a.m.

The military is still checking this report.