Bomb threat hits Davao’s biggest land terminal

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 17): Bomb threat hits Davao’s biggest land terminal

Police and military authorities imposed stricter security measures at the Davao City Overland Transport Terminal (DCOTT) Tuesday noon after the Emergency Response Center Central 911 received a bomb threat on the facility.

Supt. Julius Silagan, chief of the Talomo Police Precinct, said initial clearing operation yielded negative result of any improvised explosive device.

He said K-9 and Explosive Ordnance Units were immediately deployed in the terminal to detect any suspicious cargo.

Silagan urged the porters and ambulant vendors to be very vigilant of suspicious cargo and individuals to avoid any eventuality.

“We need to heighten our vigilance to prevent any eventuality,” he said.

Silagan urged the DCOTT management to remind all people within the facility through a public address system, every hour about the need to be alert and cooperative to the imposed security measures.

He assured that all points of entry in the facility are already guarded by authorities.

Silagan also said a team of post-blast investigators are still gathering the pieces of evidence from the blast inside the Cinema One in SM City Davao along Quimpo Boulevard to reconstruct the type of improvised explosive device used in the explosion Monday night.

SM City Davao is under the jurisdiction of the Talomo Police Precinct.

He said investigators are also studying the closed-circuit television camera footages on the persons who entered the theater before the explosion.

“We are studying the footages carefully,” Silagan said.

Maribeth Lumactod, chief of the DCOTT, said they were surprised of the presence of more security forces in the terminal.

She clarified that the flash alarm on the bomb threat did not come from them.

Even then, Lumactod thanked the authorities for the immediate action.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=566656