Metro Manila (CNN Philipines) —Lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Monday (January 11), sat down with the Department of Energy (DOE) and other stakeholders to discuss the power crisis in Mindanao caused by a series of bombings on transmission towers.
Cagayan De Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez warned of a failure of elections in Mindanao if no measures are taken to address the security issue.
Rodriguez said that the latest incident happened just hours before the meeting as another tower was bombed in Lanao del Sur, marking the 18th incident since January last year.
National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) Assistant Corporate Secretary Ronald Concepcion said they have been seeing a series of bombings a year prior to the national elections.
He presented photos that showed the affected towers in Mindanao, mostly in Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur. He also showed the trees planted and other improvement to secure transmission lines.
Concepcion said that the NGCP has negotiated with landowners, and that most claimants are demanding amounts at least five times more than the land value. The NGCP said it has filed cases against the landowners. It is also securing clearance for landowners to allow immediate repairs to take place.
According to Concepcion, the NGCP has asked for the help of local government units, but to no avail. He added that that is no proper documentation of the bombings for the NGCP to properly pinpoint who to blame for the incidents.
Concepcion admitted that he is not confident that there will be an early resolution to the problem. Energy Undersecretary Mylene Capongcol said that a task force is already in place where local government units, the national police, the armed forces, and the NGCP are tasked to get on the issue as soon as possible.
