Bombing of power transmission towers continues in Mindanao

THE BOMBING of transmission towers has succeeded in toppling this tower in September 2013 in North Cotabato province, causing massive outages there and in two other provinces—Sultan Kudarat and Maguindanao. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

COTABATO CITY—Another transmission tower of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) in Lanao del Sur province has been bombed, the second in five days this month.

In a statement, the NGCP said Tower No. 50, which carries the Agus 2-Kibawe 128-kilovolt line in Barangay Pantar, Bubong, Lanao del Sur, was bombed on Monday.

“Fortunately, the structure was not toppled,” it said. Restoration work is in progress.

The NGCP has yet to fully restore bombed Tower No. 25 in Ramain, Lanao del Sur, the same tower that carries the Agus 2-Kibawe (Bukidnon) 138-kV line.

It was toppled when unidentified men set off an improvised bomb on Christmas Eve. NGCP personnel were repeatedly denied access to the area by lot owner Johnny Sanbitoris who alleged that the government-run National Transmission Corp. (Transco) has yet to pay him right-of-way claims.

“The dispute remains unresolved to this day,” the NGCP said.

Monday’s bombing of the transmission tower was the second in the past five days in Mindanao.

Around 11:58 p.m. on Jan. 14, unidentified men also set off two improvised bombs on the legs of NGCP Tower No. 63 in Barangay Pagangan, Aleosan, North Cotabato province.

The tower was not toppled but it tilted to its left side, making it vulnerable to collapse, according to Senior Insp. Jun Napat, Aleosan town police chief. No one has claimed responsibility.

Melfrance Capulong, speaking for the NGCP in southern Mindanao, told the Inquirer that Tower No. 63 in Aleosan was repaired as of 2 p.m. on Jan. 16 without resistance from lot owners unlike in the case of Tower No. 25 in Ramain, Lanao del Sur.

The NGCP appealed for a resolution of the dispute between landowners and Transco so it could begin repairs as soon as possible.

The NGCP said the bombings only aggravated the tenuous power situation in Mindanao. The 600-megawatt generation capacity coming from new power plants will not be sufficient to fill Mindanao’s energy gap unless the bombing of transmission facilities stops.

“Sufficient supply and strong transmission are both integral to a stable power situation,” the NGCP said.

The NGCP asked the public and local and national governments to help identify the perpetrators of the bombings and negotiate with uncooperative landowners to prevent longer power interruptions.

In 2015, a total of 16 towers were bombed in the provinces of Maguindanao, North Cotabato and Lanao del Sur. Edwin O. Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao