Saboteurs cut RP telephones

Saboteurs cut RP telephones

MANILA (AP): Saboteurs have damaged telephone equipment in two areas of metropolitan Manila, cutting off phone service to a hospital, businesses and a police headquarters, officials said yesterday.

An official of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. said it was investigating whether the incident was connected to an ongoing strike at PLDT, the country's largest telecommunications company.

Horace Lavidez, a PLDT spokesman, said the saboteurs forced open 10 telephone wiring boxes located on sidewalks and destroyed the equipment inside Saturday night in the cities of Pasig and Mandaluyong, disconnecting about 2,500 telephone lines, mostly to business offices.

Lavidez said repair crews were trying to restore the lines yesterday. A union official denied any involvement in the damage.