Transmission towers are targets of bombers in South

SULTAN KUDARAT – Authorities have failed to prevent attacks on transmission towers in southern Philippines following the bombing of a steel pylon of the privately- owned National Grid Corporation of the Philippines.

Just last week, a transmission tower was bombed in the town of Aleosan in North Cotabato province.

Elizabeth Ladaga, a spokeswoman for the NGCP, said the attack occurred in the village called Pagangan and targeted Tower 63. “This is the third bombing of NGCP towers this year, and the second bombing incident for the same tower,” she told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.

She said Tower 63 was bombed on January 14. She said they would restore the tower as soon as the area has been cleared by security forces.

No individual claimed responsibility for the latest bombing, but Ladaga said the attack only serve to increase the burden of the public. The tower serves the KabacanSultan Kudarat 138- kilovolt line. The bombing did not cause any serious power interruption in the provinces.

Police also said that two of three improvised explosives strapped on the base of the tower had been detonated, and the third was safely defused.

Security forces are battling Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and other jihadist groups in North Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat, including Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur provinces in the restive Muslim autonomous region.