Fake bomb found in Quezon City condo

MANILA, Philippines - Bomb disposal experts of the Quezon City Police District (QCPD) retrieved what initially appeared to be an improvised explosive device (IED) at the 22nd floor of a high-rise building in Quezon City yesterday.

But the package, Inspector Arnulfo Franco, chief of the Quezon City Police District–Explosives and Ordnance Division (EOD) said, turned out to be a “hoax bomb.”

According to him, bomb squad personnel were called to the scene after a security guard of the President Tower Residences at the corner of Timog Avenue and Scout Ybardolaza found the item.

“It had two mineral water bottles with red liquid inside and a cellular phone,” Franco told The Star after the supposed explosive was neutralized and brought to Camp Karingal.

“This is just a hoax bomb,” he said noting that his men disconnected the wirings around the package to ensure that no explosion will take place.

He said trained policemen are able to tell if a supposed bomb poses a high-level threat or not after an initial examination of its circuitry.

“After a technical evaluation, we have confirmed that it had no capability to explode,” Franco said.

He said laboratory personnel are still trying to determine the nature of the red liquid inside the plastic bottles. “It doesn’t even smell of gas or kerosene. And the wiring is haphazard,” Franco said.

He also noted that the cell phone attached to the “bomb” had no back-up battery or power supply, which is a necessary component of an IED.

Franco said the gift-wrapped package was supposedly meant to be opened by a President Tower board member with the words “bago buksan, tawagan mo muna ang number na ito (Before opening, call this number first).”

The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) also holds office at the President Tower.

Franco said the fake bomb will be further examined to determine what was actually used to make it and if there are clues that could help identify who planted it.