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Blast hits NGCP tower in Cotabato, causes brownout


KIDAPAWAN CITY —Armed men attacked a transmission tower of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines in remote Pagangan village in Aleosan town in North Cotabato early Wednesday morning, a police official said.

Superintendent Bernard Tayong, spokesperson for Cotabato Police Provincial Office, said the suspects blasted NGCP Tower 63 at about 12:10 a.m., causing damage to  two of the tower's pillars.

Authorities also recovered an un-exploded Improvised Explosive Device (IED) strapped in another pillar of the tower, Tayong said.

“The village chair reported [the incident] to the Aleosan police,” Tayong added.

According to Tayong, the blast failed to topple the tower but  its impact caused damage to power lines.

After the blast, residents in some areas in North Cotabato, Cotabato City and Maguindanao province experienced power fluctuations.

Tayong said that the attack on the same tower in Barangay Pagangan was already the second this year.

On January 14, suspected members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) bombed the same tower which also caused widespread brownouts in Cotabato City, Maguindanao and North Cotabato.

The Cotabato provincial office is urging the NGCP to work for the deployment of security forces in their respective towers to thwart possible attacks.

The NGCP said in a statement that restoration of Tower 63 will begin as soon as the area is secured. 

"The company stressed that the bombings only serve to increase the burden of the public, which must suffer through service interruptions when towers are bombed," NGCP said. —Williamor A. Magbanua/LBG/KG, GMA News

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