MANILA, Philippines - Three key military offices at Camp Aguinaldo, including the Armed Forces of the Philippines-Public Affairs Office (PAO), have been without electricity for more than a month.
Apart from the PAO that is just getting power from a generator on an hourly basis, electricity has yet to be restored at the office of the Women’s Auxiliary Corps (WAC), the military’s audio-visual and personnel barracks, as well as the Defense Press Corps.
All these offices are located under the AFP Grandstand that has been without electricity since May 4 when three power transformers supplying electricity to the place were knocked down by lightning during a thunderstorm.
“Within a week, power will be finally restored. We are fixing the problem,” AFP spokesman and PAO chief Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said.
PAO is one of the busiest places inside Camp Aguinaldo, being the direct link on a 24-hour basis of the entire military establishment to the general public.
It was learned that AFP chief Gen. Jessie Dellosa, after being informed of the problem, immediately approved the replacement of the broken transformers.
But along the way and for still unknown reasons, the problem remains unaddressed.
In the absence of electricity, last Sunday’s Pacquiao-Bradley bout in Las Vegas was not aired live at the AFP grandstand, unlike previous fights of the Filipino boxing champ.
At present, journalists covering the defense and military have been relocated and are temporarily holding office at the Department of National Defense Office of Public Affairs.