BY ADRIAN P. NEMES III
A bomb threat temporarily halted work at the Hall of Justice building at Cottage Road in Bacolod City yesterday morning.
Station 2 commander, P/Lt. Joven Mogato, said they were informed by P/SSgt. Jackie Vargas, who was detailed at the HOJ, that an employee of the Public Attorney’s Office received a call through the office cellular phone at about 8:22 a.m.
The employee, who was not identified, said that an Ilonggo-speaking man warned her that they should vacate the HOJ immediately because a bomb had been planted and this could explode anytime, Mogato added.
Station 2 policemen were deployed to the HOJ to assist in the evacuation and members of the Bacolod police K-9 bomb squad arrived later and searched the area for almost two hours but no explosive was found, Mogato said.
He said they tried calling the number but it was no longer active.
A SCHEME
Mogato said he believes that the bomb scare may be a scheme to delay court proceedings scheduled yesterday.
Meanwhile, about P64,800 worth of suspected shabu was seized by operatives of the Bacolod City Police in barangays Mansilingan and Taculing Monday night.
P/Lt. Liberty Indiape, BCPO spokesperson, said that Station 7 policemen arrested two suspects at about 6 p.m. in Purok Kabugwason, Mansilingan, and identified them as Jonel Aguilar, 28, of Purok Mabinuligon, Brgy. Sum-ag, and Jessa Quillan, 21, of Grandville, Mansilingan.
Seized from the suspects were four heat-sealed transparent sachets of suspected shabu weighing four grams, with an estimated market value of P27,200, an improvised glass tooter, a black pouch, and P100 in marked money, police records showed.
Station 4 chief, P/Major Jun Ray Batadlan, also reported the arrest of Erika Octava, 20, of Gonzaga Street, Taculing, at about 7:30 p.m. Batadlan said Octava was arrested when she handed a sachet of suspected shabu to a police-poseur buyer at 7th Road, Taculing. Recovered from her were a big heat-sealed plastic sachet and an elongated sachet of suspected shabu, worth P37,600, a coin purse, and P160 in cash.*
