Friday, January 04, 2008 Saboteurs hit TranCo tower By Stephen Capillas
THE regional office of the Transmission Corp. (TransCo) confirmed Thursday that one of its towers in the Lanao province was damaged by still unidentified men sometime Thursday morning.
In a radio interview, TranCco spokesperson Raffy Magbanua said initial reports from their personnel said damages on the Agus-Kibawe line tower reached P5 million, though it had yet to be determined how the structure was destroyed.
Magbanua also said they received the other day an extortion letter from a still unidentified group demanding payment for an undisclosed amount.
As this developed, the TransCo official said they called on the military and the police to beef up security in the area along with the other TransCo towers in Mindanao to prevent similar incidents from occurring.
Magbanua added that repairs on the damaged tower are ongoing and they expect to restore power on the affected areas in Lanao provinces soon.
The incident occurred even as TransCo has yet to reportedly resolve its problems with a security agency after some of the security guards threatened not to report to work since they have yet to receive their salaries.
The security agency based in Iligan City has yet to resolve this matter with their people. Military and police personnel have provided security for the towers in Mindanao in the meantime, Magbanua said.
The TransCo official said they also reported the matter to the central office along with the police and the military.
