TransCo towers tightly guarded

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – The police and military are now closely watching the transmission towers of the National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) in various parts of southwestern and Central Mindanao to prevent further attacks.

Transco-Southwestern department manager Manuel Hamoy Jr. said government forces are now taking appropriate measures to prevent bombers from toppling more towers in the two regions.

Hamoy said TransCo security personnel and military troops have been deployed to tightly guard the premises of these transmission towers.

“We need to stop them (bombers) from staging more attacks. They should be neutralized. They are causing problems not only to the operations of TransCo but also to the public,” Hamoy said in a long-distance phone interview.

Major cities in Mindanao, including the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), endured power outages for several hours last week due to attacks on a number of TransCo towers.

A report, a copy of which was furnished The STAR by a TransCo official, showed that six transmission towers had been toppled by bombs made from 81mm mortar shells.

The latest attacks affecting two towers happened in Barangay Klinan in Alabel, Sarangani.

TransCo officials refused to say if terrorist groups, especially the Al-Khobar extortion gang, were involved in the bombings.