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ZAMBOANGA CITY: Soldiers foiled bomb attacks on two vital power
lines in the hinterlands of Mindanao on Friday, where rebels had
toppled several pylons in the past weeks.
Two bombs, assembled from mortars and rigged to
an electronic timer, were discovered in two separate towers in
Tacurong City in Sultan Kudarat province. One of the bomb was set to
explode at 9.30 a.m. and the other at 3.30 p.m. Soldiers were able
to disarm both.
A security guard of the state-owned National
Transmission Corporation discovered the bombs and informed police
and military about the explosives.
No group claimed responsibility for the failed
attack, but authorities have previously tagged rouge members of the
country’s largest Muslim rebel group, Moro Islamic Liberation
Front as behind past bombings of power lines in Mindanao.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which is
currently negotiating peace with Manila, denied allegations it was
behind the bombings.
On Tuesday and Thursday, two more pylons were
damaged from separate bombings in Sultan Kudarat’s President
Elpidio Quirino town and a third attack on in Tacurong City failed
after soldiers discovered a bomb before it was to explode.
Security forces have stepped up its patrol in
Mindanao to thwart attempts to bomb government targets, said Lt.
Col. Julieto Ando, spokesman of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.
“We have doubled our efforts to prevent
bombings of power pylons. We are doing our best to protect vital
government installations,” he told The Manila Times.
Ando said the attacks were aimed at targeting
the local economy. “This is economic sabotage,” he said.
Last month, several pylons were also toppled in
Sarangani and Lanao del Sur province, plunging many areas in
Mindanao into darkness.
-- Al Jacinto
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