CITY OF MALOLOS—Bulacan Gov. Daniel Fernando wants a tighter watch and a deeper police investigation in the series of bomb threats in at least six campuses of a government-run university and college in the province despite everything turned out to be a hoax.
In the first quarterly Bulacan Provincial Peace and Order Council meeting here on Thursday presided over by Fernando , he calls on the police to be on high alert and on the guard amid the threats in Meneses Campus of the Bulacan State University (BulSU) and in all the five campuses of the Bulacan Polytechnic College (BPC), a tertiary institution in the province owned and run by the provincial government of Bulacan.
Fernando said while it turned out to be good, because they were just pranks, the people behind such crime which caused alarm not only among the university populace but also the rest of the communities in the province should not continue unpunished.
He said there could be some elements who are taking opportune time to create havoc.
“Our police should not take the threats lightly. We do not know who is behind these. There could be some lawless elements and our students and our people will suffer,” the governor said.
“Nagsisiguro lang tayo dahil may sumasabay na nag bo-bomb threat , baka mamaya eh, hindi tayo sigurado, nakikita naman natin sa Mindanao, baka pumunta dito sa Luzon. Mainam na nagbabantay tayo, maagap tayo, kesa pabanjing-banjing lang tayo, kawawa naman ang ating mga estudyante at kawawa naman tayiong lahat,” (We are just making it sure because there are those who are taking the opportunity for these bomb threats. We are not sure that’s why we better to become watchful and ready. We should not take it sitting down. We all would be helpless), he also said.
Series of hoax bomb threats disrupted the classes in BulSU Meneses Campus in Bulakan town and in all the BPC campuses—Main Campus in this city and branch campuses in City of San Jose del Monte and the towns of Bocaue, San Miguel and San Rafael.
Police Chief Master Sergeant (PCMS) Gharry Cruz, head of the Bulacan Provincial Explosives Ordnance Division (EOD) and K-9 Unit led his men in the search and clearing operations in all the said six campuses on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively.
But, EOD personnel and K-9 dogs found no bomb or any improvised explosive device.
Bulakan police chief Maj. Darwin Barbosa requested the EOD-K-9 team following reports he received from BulSU Meneses officials of bomb and arson threats sent to messenger accounts of faculty members and students on Monday.
At 10:31 pm, a certain “Lyn Ren” messenger account send this message to students and faculty members: ”Gusto niyo ba ituloy ang pasok bukas. Hahahahaha. Goodluck sa pasabog. Magpa-blessing kayo ng bagong room pero masasayang lang yan dahil bukas ay malalaman niyo ano mangyayari sa buong Meneses hindi ako nagbibro dahil magsisimula ulit kayo sa simula. Bagong campus para pagtayuan malay mo may bomba na sa bagong room o sa ibang room para bago lahat. Hahahahaha,” (Do you like to continue holding classes tomorrow? Hahahahaha. Goodluck in the explosions. Go ahead, conduct blessings of new rooms but that would just be wasted because tomorrow, you will know what would happen to the whole of Meneses campus. I am not making a joke because you will start all over again. New campus where something will be built. You wouldn’t know, there’s a bomb in the new room or in the other rooms. Hahahaha).
Messages also sent to students and faculty by “SindyEnemyOfAll” on Tuesday night said: “Dtlga kau nagiisip ha. Nagresume Classes pa kau bukas at sa mga susunod na Araw kung Hindi kau sasabog kayong lahat ay masusunog tandaan nyo jan. Good luck sainung lahat ipagsawalang bahal niu lang magugulat kau, sasabog nalang kau jan. Sunog. Sunugin ang Menses. Gud lucksainyo bukas. Madami kayo may klase bukas madami kayo mamamatay. Pasasabugin naming ang Meneses susunugin kayong buhay damay damay to,” (You were not really thinking.. You resumed the classes tomorrow and in the next few days. If you do not explode, you will all burn, remember that. Goodluck to all of you. Ignore it and you will be surprised. All of you will explode there. Fire. Burn the Meneses Campus. Goodluck to all of you tomorrow. Many of you have classes tomorrow, many of you will get killed. We will bomb Meneses. You will all be burnt alive. All will go down on this).
Because of the two days’ threat, BulSU President Teody San Andres ordered the classes suspended inside the Meneses Campus on Tuesday and Wednesday and classes were only held online, he told Inquirer.
At 9:00 am on Wednesday, BPC received a bomb threat on its Facebook Page. “Hell night. We planted our bombs in all your campuses specially in your main campus. This is the first step of our plan to ruin your province. Good luck!. At exactly 10:00 am, we will trigger the bomb,” the message reads,
Cruz said he and his team immediately conducted simultaneous search and clearing operations in all the five campuses in Bocaue, City of San Jose del Monte, San Miguel, San Rafael and in the Main Campus in City of Malolos.
The troops ended their 13-hour operations from 9am-10pm and found no trace of a bomb.
Both the incidents are now under investigation by the Cybercrime Division of the Region 3 Police Office based in Camp Olivas, Pampanga, while they also conduct a deeper probe in the incidents, says Bulacan Police Director Col. Relly Arnedo.
