Security sought for Lanao Sur electric co-op

MANILA, Philippines - The House committee on energy yesterday urged the Philippine National Police to provide security to an electric cooperative in Lanao del Sur whose equipment were recently torched by unidentified armed men.

Committee vice chairman and 1-Care party-list Rep. Michael Angelo Rivera said the burning of a truck in Ditsaan-Ramain town on May 13 should be investigated and the culprits brought to justice.

The police earlier reported that gunmen set on fire a boom truck owned by a power project contractor hired by the Lanao del Sur Electric Cooperative (Lasureco) as the driver and workers were about to install new electric lines. 

“This is most unfortunate because its the people who will suffer from these conflicts,” Mindoro Oriental Rep. Rey Umali, chairman of the panel, said.

Lasureco said the incident was apparently triggered by its disconnection policy after it cut off electric service for the local government last year due to unpaid bills amounting to over P26 million.