By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — The Quezon City Hall compound was cleared of any explosives after authorities conducted a security sweep following a bomb threat received Thursday night, city officials said.
The Quezon City government said the threat was sent through a private message to its official Facebook page by an unidentified individual.
Authorities immediately launched a security inspection of the entire city hall compound, including its buildings, as part of established security protocols.
The sweep, paneling and inspection yielded no suspicious objects or situations, according to the city government.
At a press briefing at Camp Crame on Friday, PNP public information chief Col. Allen Rae Co disclosed the contents of the message received by the city government.
“Hello, nag-PM ako. May nakatanim po ngayon sa isa sa mga CR ng Quezon City Hall,” the sender wrote.
The message claimed that something had been planted in one of the restrooms at City Hall but did not identify what the supposed object was.
“It was not stated actually kung ano yung nakatanim,” Co said.
Authorities nevertheless treated the message as a serious security concern and immediately checked the premises.
“Pwedeng lumabas na he is just giving information to warn [us], but chineck natin, of course,” Co said. “We treat each and every case like this seriously.”
The Quezon City Police District and the Philippine National Police-Anti-Cybercrime Group are now working to trace the source of the message and identify the person responsible.
The city government said those responsible for the threat would be held accountable.
It also warned the public against making bomb threats as a joke or using such threats to create fear and alarm.
Residents who may have information about the incident were urged to immediately report it to authorities or contact the city through Helpline 122.
ia/xf
