EDITORIAL - The threat

A bomb threat sent to the office of Mayor Gerald Anthony “Samsam” Gullas disrupted work at the Talisay City Hall last Tuesday, April 28.

Earlier that day, someone messaged the official social media page of Gullas saying three bombs had been planted in different buildings in the City Hall compound.

City Hall employees and the transacting public were asked to leave the building around 8 A.M.

Personnel of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal came to look for the alleged bombs but, thankfully, didn’t find any.

There have been different bomb threats targeting various government offices and other institutions in that past and all turned out fake.

In October of 2024, two schools received bomb threats. First was the Cebu Technological University Main Campus, followed by the Cebu Institute of Technology-University.

In August that same year, classes at the University of Cebu-Banilad Campus had to be held online after someone said she was going to bomb the school.

In March of 2022, operations at the Qimonda IT Center at the North Reclamation Area were disrupted after a court employee received a text message saying bombs had been planted around the building.

More often than not, a bomb threat means there’s no bomb at all. A bomb isn’t easy to make nor is it easy to plant. Someone who plants a bomb wants to inflict maximum damage in terms of people and infrastructure.

Why would anyone plant a bomb then tell the very people he plans to target about what’s going to happen? It’s like preparing to shoot someone then telling them at the last second to get out of the way.

With that said, we can’t blame people for taking precaution. Safety must always be considered. Even something an unlikely as the implied presence of a bomb must be taken seriously.

With this, we wonder what kind of people call in such threats?  What are they trying to achieve? Do they want to cause chaos or do they just have too much time on their hands and have so little to do?

Whatever their reason, the end result --even without a bomb going off-- is almost as bad. Government services are interrupted, transactions are put off, money is wasted, and lives are affected.