3 bomb threats in 3 days scare Iloilo schools
ILOILO CITY — A series of bomb threats prompted two private schools in this city to suspend classes as police investigation is ongoing to identify the suspects and determine the real motive.
Bomb scare drove University of San Agustin officials to cancel classes for two consecutive days after receiving the threats within a span of about 16 hours.
On Thursday, the school’s official Facebook account received a message from a certain “Andalmalek Al-Ahdal” that there was a bomb at the Mendel Hall. It was sent around 6:30 a.m. but a school employee was able to read it past 7 a.m.
At around 10 a.m., the bomb squad declared the area “negative” and cleared.
It was the second bomb threat for the university after receiving the first one through a Facebook post by a certain “Felix Tan” at around 4 p.m. on Wednesday claiming there was a bomb at the university’s RADA Hall.
On Tuesday, the Ateneo de Iloilo-Santa Maria Catholic School’s classes were called off after a security guard reported to the police of a suspected bomb placed at the lower portion of the wall within Gate 2 of the school.
Supt. Jonathan Pablito, chief of police of the Iloilo City Police Station 1, said the school was able to retrieve the internet protocol (IP) address of the message of “Andalmalek Al-Ahdal” but failed to secure the IP address of “Felix Tan’s” message as the account was immediately deactivated.
“But our hopes are high that we will be able to trace the suspect although we are aware of the challenges like the privacy laws of Facebook and the internet,” he said.
“Our regional director, Chief Supt. John Bulalacao, ordered us to really do everything because if not, he will elevate it to Camp Crame for assistance on the needed capabilities,” he said.
He said joint teams of the Department of Information and Communication Technology 6 (Western Visayas) and Police Regional Office 6’s Anti-Cybercrime Office are tracking the suspect.
If they prove successful, Pablito said that this will be a “landmark case” because they could already handle cybercrime cases here.
Meanwhile, in a statement released by the university in their official Facebook account, the school administration assured it will “implement stricter security measures to ensure safety within and around its premises.”
“The University once again extends its gratitude to the students and personnel for staying calm and for appropriately responding to the threat. The men and women of the Iloilo City Police, the Iloilo City Government and the Explosive Ordnance Division of Camp Delgado also merit the same gratitude for their quick response and assistance,” the school said.
Iloilo City Mayor Jose Espinosa III warned people who have the propensity to crack bomb jokes that the intelligence community is now working and once caught, pranksters will be sent to jail.
“You better stop it because it will bring you no good. There is a law against that, once you are caught we will prosecute you,” he said. (Perla Lena/PNA)
