Why towers are bombed (2)

Ruffy Magbanua

OVER lunch the other day, we had an interesting discussion with a friend from Marawi on the toppling of towers and the mishandling of right-of-way issues.

The relentless bombings of towers in Lanao and other vulnerable areas in Mindanao are the result of the lack of sense of community on the part of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP), he says matter-of-factly.

We fully agree. Through the years, right-of-way concerns were sidelined, only to be regarded as relevant when electric pylons are bombed, when Mindanao is walloped with darkness due to blackout.

True enough, the culture of insensitivity and indifference is still there, passed on unknowingly by the National Transmission Corp. (Transco) to NGCP, courtesy of Epira.

Experience tells us just that–corporate social responsibility takes the backseat when it comes to funding and priorities, including settlements of land  claims.

Tell me, how can one right thinking CSR specialist or the ROW officer for that matter make a difference in community engagement with just a complimentary budget at hand?

Now, here comes a landowner demanding for P40 million payment on the use of NGCP tower inside his 30- sqm titled property. Reportedly deprived of settlement for 42 years, the land owner has all the reason to demand   payment for what he says as “just compensation.’.

Damn, corporate karma seems to work well here–what goes around, comes around.

We therefore take our hats off to local  government units for painstakingly going the extra mile in reaching out for possible amicable settlement.

More than anything else, we say cheers to the  linemen for risking their lives in the line of fire, so to speak, and jeers to the people behind the unimpressive campaign adverts on the tower bombings.

By the way, who’s responsible for settling land claims? Is it the NGCP?  Transco? Or the LGUs? Spokesperson Cynthia Alavanza says the other way around.

Appearing before the provincial board of Misamis Oriental, Alavanza  was quick in the draw: NGCP’s only primary task is to maintain and restore bombed towers.

If NGCP has no obligation in ROW issues, then why the heck did it have to start negotiations (based on newspaper account) on the settlement of a P40-million demand?

With all its media hype, NGCP acts like a whiner, desperately calling for help to stop the bombings, forgetting perhaps that it has a standing mandate of providing reliable electricity transmission service–without interruption, all by itself.

The toppling of power pylons has prompted the provincial government of Misamis Oriental to call for a state of emergency, saying the bombing madness is a serious threat to the coming May elections.

Ironically, no one has ever claimed responsibility for the bombings. Neither were culprits put behind bars.

Our good friend from Marawi  has this practical advise to Alavanza–get down to the host communities, pay their claims and empower them as stewards of power lines. We buy this idea. Common  sense, fellas.