INQUIRER FILES
TAGBILARAN CITY 鈥� A prayer rally for former President Rodrigo Duterte in Trinidad town, Bohol, on Monday (March 17) was interrupted by a power outage for about an hour.
The electrical failure outraged the supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte holding the gathering.
But according to the Bohol Electric Cooperative (Boheco) II, the power interruption was not intentional, contrary to what Duterte鈥檚 supporters claimed.
The culprit: an electrocuted 鈥渢uko鈥� or gecko.
Boheco II, in a post on Facebook on Wednesday, showed a photo of the dead gecko stuck in its electric system.
Around 2,000 people in Trinidad joined the event for Duterte at the Motropoll Ground when the electricity tripped twice.
Attendees used candles as prayers by pastors and speeches by leading fraternities and brotherhood groups continued.
The rally ended peacefully but some attendees expressed disappointment over the power outage.
Some particularly blamed Bohol Gov. Erico Aristotle Aumentado for it.
But Boheco II said the power outage that struck at 8:31 p.m. last Monday had nothing to do with the local government.
Aside from Trinidad, the blackout also affected the towns of Bien Unido and some areas in Ubay.
Electricity was restored at 9:29 p.m.
The provincial government of Bohol released a statement on March 19, saying Aumentado had nothing to do with the power outage.
鈥淲e categorically deny the allegation. Such incident never happened,鈥� it noted.
The Bohol local government denounced 鈥渋n the strongest possible terms the nature of the insinuation that is meant to sow division among our people.鈥�
It said it supports the people鈥檚 right to assembly and expression.
鈥淲e attach great importance to the aforementioned rights in driving clean governance as championed by Governor Aumentado,鈥� it said.
Duterte, 79, was arrested last March 11 under an ICC warrant over allegations of crimes against humanity.
This stemmed from the war on illegal drugs he waged during his term as president from 2016 to 2022.