MANILA, Philippines - Cotabato Rep. Emmylou Talino-Mendoza has condemned the recent bombing of a National Transmission Corp. (TransCo) tower in Kabacan town and the attempted attack on another tower in nearby Carmen town.
“These senseless attacks serve no other purpose except to sow fear and panic among otherwise peaceful farming communities, sabotage the livelihood of ordinary people and destroy property,” she said.
“The only thing the attackers accomplished here is to politically isolate themselves further from the residents,” she said.
She described the incidents as “cowardly terrorist acts.”
According to a military report reaching Talino-Mendoza’s office, a person was wounded in the attack on the Kabacan tower.
Located along the national highway, some 80 meters from a rice field in Barangay Malabuaya, the tower was knocked down and totally destroyed by improvised explosives.
The crash of the tower plunged some parts of Cotabato into darkness for up to three hours.
The power transmission structure in Barangay Kitulaan in Carmen town was not damaged after two planted improvised explosives failed to explode.
The military report blamed both incidents on suspected members of the special operations group of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Talino-Mendoza warned her constituents of other possible future threats, which she said could undermine efforts to revive peace negotiations between the government and MILF.
“The government has been investing a lot to energize villages and roll out new infrastructure such as roads and bridges to improve lives in rural areas. Sadly, some groups simply do not want the government to succeed, and are bent on a destructive rampage,” she said.