Marcos SONA day marred by explosion, bomb threat

MANILA, Philippines — Hours before President Marcos delivered his State of the Nation Address (SONA) yesterday, a bomb exploded near the entrance of the Department of Justice (DOJ) compound in Manila.

The explosion occurred at 12:17 a.m. along Padre Faura street. There were no casualties, but two vehicles parked in the area were damaged.

Authorities also discovered an improvised explosive device (IED) near the Senate complex in Pasay just as senators started arriving for the SONA.

Following the explosion outside the DOJ, the Philippine National Police (PNP)’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit conducted a technical examination.

PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. ordered a probe to identify the people behind the bomb threats.

Asked if the incidents could be connected, Nartatez said: “Yes, there’s a big possibility.”

Police responded to a call about an improvised bomb found near the Senate gate along Diokno Boulevard in Pasay at 8:13 a.m.

Police were conducting a routine inspection in front of the Senate building when an employee of a towing service firm shouted that there was a bomb.

A bomb disposal team detonated the explosive.

Nartatez said the bomb had no shrapnel, an indication that the perpetrators only wanted to sow fear.

DOJ spokesman Polo Martinez said authorities are investigating leads to determine the source, nature and circumstances surrounding the blast.

Metro Manila police chief Maj. Gen. Anthony Aberin said they are reviewing closed-circuit television footage in the Senate area to identify who left the IED.

Palace press officer Claire Castro said the explosion outside the DOJ was alarming.

Senate tightens security

The Senate tightened security following the discovery of the improvised bomb.

Office of the Sergeant-at-Arms chief Alfred Corpus said the IED was lodged near a towing truck’s rear tire.

The package, concealed inside what appeared to be a box of biscuit, initially drew little attention until the workers opened it and saw wires and batteries inside.

“Police patrolling the area noticed the package, checked it and immediately reported it to their superiors,” Corpus said.

The explosive was turned over to police Scene of the Crime Operatives for forensic examination.

Corpus said the package contained “a battery, a clock, a blasting cap and brown powder,” prompting authorities to classify it as a suspected IED pending laboratory confirmation.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian immediately ordered tighter security measures around the Senate complex.

Gatchalian condemned what he described as an apparent attempt to intimidate the Senate.

“We condemn this apparent attempt to sow fear near the Senate on the very day our institutions gather for the SONA,” he said.

“No such act of intimidation will distract the Senate from its work for the Filipino people,” he added. — Emmanuel Tupas, Mark Ernest Villeza, EJ Macababbad, Alexis Romero, Andrew Ronquillo