Floods delay restoration of electricity in Western Mindanao

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Floods hampered efforts by the National Transmission Corporation (Transco) to restore electricity in Western Mindanao and two other provinces, a Transco official said Wednesday. Avelino Dawis, Transco department manager for Lanao del Norte, said his repair team was stranded in the village of Lapayan in Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte. Dawis said they could not cross the bridge to ferry the rest of the equipment needed to complete the repair works as the Lapayan River overflowed, making the bridge inaccessible. The entire Western Mindanao and the provinces of Misamis Occidental and Lanao del Norte were plunged into darkness after gunmen toppled a Transco pylon using improvised bombs on Saturday in the village of Tingin-Tingin in Kauswagan. No group has claimed responsibility for the sabotage, but officials suspect they were followers of Abdulrahman Macapaar, alias Commander Bravo, known as a renegade commander of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Dawis said they need to install three conductors and one overhead wire to reconnect the blacked out area with Transco’s Mindanao main power grid. Dawis said they have yet to assess the total damage caused by the bombing of the pylon. - GMANews.TV