Wednesday, March 21, 2007 Police facing blank wall in 3 tower explosions By Lino dela Cruz Iligan correspondent
TUBOD, Lanao del Norte -- The Philippine National Police (PNP) here remain clueless in the conduct of its inquiry to establish the identities of the suspects in bombings of the National Power Corporation (NPC) transmission towers last week.
Three transmission towers were bombed last week in Pugaan, Iligan City, Baloi, Lanao del Norte and Barangay Sugod, Marawi City, which caused partial brownouts in some parts of Northern Mindanao, according to NPC officials. Power was restored the next day.
"As of now we cannot pinpoint the suspects in these bombings, and we are vigorously conducting further investigation," PNP Provincial Director Linog Bagul said.
"We need concrete evidence to pinpoint any group or individual responsible for these bombings," Bagul said, adding that they will soon uncover clues to pursue the suspects.
The PNP in Marawi, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, and Iligan City as well as the Philippine Army have taken steps to further secure the transmission towers, according to Bagul.
The police said they are trying to identify the groups or individuals suspected in the bombings after the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) denounced some authorities for attributing the bombings to their group.
The MILF also resented accusations that "a lost command" from their ranks had perpetrated these actions.
Transco meanwhile said it is coordinating closely with the military and police in protecting the towers and assured that round the clock repairs were made to ensure that the towers won't compromise power service, which they said were unaffected by the attacks.
