Militiamen chase away saboteur trying to topple power pylon

KIDAPAWAN CITY, North Cotabato, Philippines—A tip from alert civilians and quick response by government-backed militiamen prevented a power pylon in North Cotabato from being toppled by a saboteur, saving North Cotabato and several other provinces from what could have been another a massive power outage, a military official said Wednesday.

Nonetheless, the unidentified saboteur caused enough damage to briefly disrupt the supply of power to the town of Kabacan last Monday.

Capt. Antonio Bulao, spokesperson of the Army’s 602nd Infantry Brigade, said that civilians living near Transmission Tower No. 126 of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines in the municipality of Carmen reported seeing that a man was trying to cut a section of the pylon with a hacksaw last Monday.

Bulao said paramilitary forces stationed near the area responded immediately but failed to catch the saboteur, who apparently fled as they approached.

The militiamen noted, however, that the man had managed to cut one of the pylon’s four anchors. This caused the steel structure to tilt, cutting off the power supply to the town of Kabacan, Bulao said.

“Repairs were quickly done and the power supply for Kabacan was restored before dark fell,” he said, adding that militiamen were deployed around the tower to prevent further attempts to bring it down.

A few weeks ago, unidentified persons bombed Tower No. 141 in Kabacan town, triggering a power outage in North Cotabato and a number of other provinces in Central and Southern Mindanao. The military initially blamed the bombing on the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, but the rebels subsequently denied they were behind the attack.