MANILA, Philippines - Metro police chief Director Roberto Rosales directed San Juan police to dig deeper into a bomb scare at a car park of a shopping center in Greenhills, San Juan Sunday night.
Rosales ordered his five district directors and 37 station commanders to intensify security drills with guards of malls and other commercial centers in their respective areas to prevent such incident.
He also appealed to businessmen to get K-9 bomb sniffing dog to help security guards, citing the key role it played in the discovery of a rifle grenade at the Greenhills Shopping Center.
Noel Buendia, K-9 handler, was making the rounds of the shopping center when he and his dog came upon a black plastic bag in the men’s restroom at the car park.
The dog sat atop the plastic bag, prompting Buendia to report this to the mall manager, who in turn called members of the Explosive Ordnance Division (EOD) of the San Juan City police.
SPO1 Hernan Cruz of the EOD said they evacuated shoppers from the area before working for less than an hour to “disrupt” the explosive device.
After being sure that the item was not life-threatening, Cruz said they opened the plastic bag and found a rifle grenade with an exposed battery and wirings.
Police are looking into extortion activity of a group in the bomb scare, but would not elaborate pending investigation. – Non Alquitran