Police to coordinate closely with schools after bomb threats

The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) on Sunday ordered all its units to intensify bomb threat awareness campaigns in Metro Manila schools, emphasizing coordinated responses, prompt threat assessments and proper emergency procedures to protect students, teachers and school personnel while minimizing class disruptions.

The directive follows a bomb threat reported on Oct. 23 at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) St. Martin de Porres building (Faculty of Medicine and Surgery) in Manila.

Separate letters containing the threat were found inside women’s restrooms on the fourth and second floors, according to The Varsitarian, UST’s student paper.

Article continues after this advertisement

The buildings mentioned in the letters were the Main Building (Faculty of Civil Law, Faculty of Pharmacy and College of Science; Office of the Rector and other offices; and Museum of Arts and Sciences) and St. Raymund de Peñafort Building (Faculty of Arts and Letters and College of Commerce and Business Administration).

FEATURED STORIES

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

NEWSINFO

As a precaution, authorities ordered the evacuation of people in the three buildings while UST shifted to remote class and work arrangements the next day.

Established protocol

NCRPO officer in charge Brig. Gen. Christopher Abrahano stressed the need for schools and responding authorities to act swiftly and systematically whenever a bomb threat is reported.

He also directed police units to strengthen coordination with school administrators, security personnel, local government units and emergency responders to ensure established protocols are clearly understood and properly implemented.

“Every bomb threat must be taken seriously, but our response must also be disciplined, coordinated and guided by established procedures,” Abrahano said.

Article continues after this advertisement

“We need schools to know exactly whom to contact, how to report threats, when to activate emergency measures and how to work with responding authorities,” he added.

Clear protocols are essential to protect lives, prevent panic and avoid unnecessary delays in determining the appropriate response, Abrahano said.

Article continues after this advertisement

According to him, awareness campaigns should cover proper threat reporting, immediate coordination with police and emergency responders, orderly evacuation when warranted, securing affected areas and conducting appropriate security assessments before normal school activities resume.

The NCRPO chief likewise reminded school officials and security teams to preserve available evidence and refrain from spreading unverified information that could heighten public anxiety.

Aside from UST, several universities in the National Capital Region also received bomb threats in the past weeks. A written letter warning of a bomb explosion was found in a women’s restroom on Oct. 20 at the University of the East in Manila. This led to the suspension of classes on that day as students were asked to leave. No bomb, however, was found after police searched the campus.

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.

Your subscription has been successful.

Classes at Far Eastern University in Manila were also called off on Sept. 23 following a reported bomb threat. Just 20 days before, a similar threat was posted on the Facebook page of National University in Pasay City, disrupting morning classes. —PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY