One bomb threat, 129 suspects

It was one of those bomb threat hoaxes and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has 129 suspects.

A seemingly "agitated" male caller rang up the main Comelec office in Manila at 9:15 a.m. yesterday and warned that a bomb had been in the premises before hanging up by banging the phone.

The Western Police District-Explosives and Ordnance Division arrived immediately and searched the premises, but found nothing inside or outside the two-story building in Intramuros.

"When we received the reports about the bomb threat, we knew it was a hoax by the manner the caller delivered the threat," said an EOD expert. "We checked it just the same."

Many of the poll body’s employees ended up working for only half a day as a result.

"Most likely it was one of those candidates we disqualified," said telephone operator Nenita Deocada, who received the threatening call.

The poll body recently disqualified a total of 129 "nuisance candidates" for the position of president, vice president, and senator. Of the 84 individuals who filed their certificates of candidacy for president only six were accredited, four out of 21 vice presidential aspirants and 54 of the senatorial candidacy applicants.

Deocada quoted the caller as saying: "Comelec, may bomba kayo diyan kasi corrupt kayo." The caller was apparently referring to the P1.3-billion Comelec election counting automation contract which was voided last Tuesday by the Supreme Court for alleged anomalies.

"The May election is one of the hottest issues these days, apparently gustong makisakay ng mga taong walang magawa," a police officer said.

After ensuring that the bomb threat was a hoax, employees were instructed to return to their respective offices. By then several employees have opted to go home.

The bomb team was headed by Senior Police Officer 1 Rudy Supsupin.

In 1996, two bombs exploded at the premises of Comelec at the height of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) elections. One died and Comelec has since been guarded by heavily armed Special Action Force policemen.