Bomb threat interrupts work in Capitol’s legislative building

Police searched the vicinity of the Capitol legislative building following a reported bomb threat on Monday, September 13. | Contributed Photo

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Work in the legislative building of the Cebu Provincial Capitol was briefly interrupted on Monday, September 13, after employees received a bomb threat.

All workers assigned in the building were immediately told to vacate the place as police, its ordnance team, and the Special Weapons and Tactic (Swat) scoured the area.

Vice Gov. Hilario “Junjun” Davide III said one of his staffs received a phone call at around 11:50 a.m. claiming that a bomb was planted there.

“Sa landline man tingale nga naa kunoy bomba sud sa building,” said Davide.

(The call was made via landline informing us that a bomb was planted in the building.)

The receiver of the call was identified as Felicisimo Tandoy Jr.

“Babaye ang caller… Pag first niya ug tawag, iyaha rang gibutang direcho pag ingon nga gikan kos Vice Governor’s office… Pagka after one minute, nanawag nasad siya. Pag ingon na sad nako nga si Entoy ni sa Vice Governor’s office unsa akong ikaalagad, naglahus-lahus na siya ug storya nga ‘sir, palihog ko ug pa evacuate as legislative building kay naay bomba mubuto in 20 minutes’ and then gibutang lang,” said Tandoy.

(The caller was a woman. The caller did not speak the first time that she dialed our office number and after I informed her that she was calling the Vice Governor’s office. She again called after one minute. When I said this if Entoy of the Vice Governor’s office, how may I help you, she them told me of the need to vacate the legislative building because a bomb will explode in the next 20 minutes then she ended the call.)

The legislative building houses the offices of the Vice Governor, Provincial Board Members, the Cebu provincial offices of the Commission on Elections in Cebu (Comelec -Cebu), Commission on Audit (COA-Cebu), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

Investigators are still tracing the identity of the caller, and the veracity of the threat as of this writing.

Last week, the Cebu City Hall, the seat of power of the Cebu City Government, was also the subject of a bomb threat.

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/ dcb