A MAJOR electric post of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) was burned down in a fire of still unknown origin in Tanjay City Saturday.

NGCP supplies power to many towns and cities in central and northern Negros Oriental.

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Marcos Quiamco of the NGCP said they were looking at the possibility of “sabotage”. But he said it was up to police and fire investigators to confirm this and determine the cause of the fire.

The incident took place around the same time that the entire Visayas region experienced a total power blackout for many hours on Saturday due to the breakdown of power plants in Leyte.

Also an estimated 23,000 hectares of sugarcane fields were razed, as well as mango trees and banana plants within the vicinity in Sitio Cambandoy, Barangay Sta. Cruz in Tanjay City.

Residents lamented that no fire truck and policemen came to Cambandoy from the time the fire started around 11 a.m. until it ended at 4 p.m.

The electric post, meanwhile, was still smoldering up until 2 a.m. Sunday, said Alejandro Dinewanao, whose house was right across the railroad track from the burning sugarcane fields.

He said they were afraid to douse the fire as the electric post was hooked up to a live wire.

Dinewanao said he sent his nephew to the city proper to inform the police about the fire.

But, police and firemen in Tanjay denied receiving a report on the fire incident, as evidenced in blotter entries for that day.

Residents in Cambandoy said that initially they thought the fire, which they believed had started at the 20-hectare farm of the Diaz family, was intentional as part of the clearing process prior to planting sugarcane.

But as the day moved on, strong winds fanned the blaze, which spread out so fast to nearby sugarcane fields, alarming residents who said they were ready to evacuate their homes at any time, said Dinewanao.

Jessie Sido, a beneficiary of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), lost his newly-planted sugarcane of just about one month in his 2,000 hectare lot.

Sido said the sugarcane would have been ready for harvest in another nine months.

Some residents in the area said they believe that some disgruntled “tapaseros” or sugarcane field workers had deliberately set the fire as they urged authorities to investigate the incident.

Damage to the sugarcane fields and the electric post has yet to be determined.

The NGCP, meanwhile, has replaced the burnt electric post and restored power around 3 p.m. Sunday.

The said electric post is part of a major transmission line that carries 1,000 volts of power to areas such as Bais City all the way to Guihulngan.

Fire investigators promised to determine whether or not arson was the cause of the fire. (PNA)