Bomb threat grips Letran a day after DLSU blast

Tension gripped the Colegio de San Juan de Letran in Intramuros, Manila on Monday after a caller warned of a bomb placed in the school’s premises. The bomb threat was later found to be a hoax, but school officials nevertheless suspended the classes for the entire day to assure the safety of its students and employees. Michael Arrazabal, officer-in-charge of Letran, said they received the call at around 9 a.m., after which they immediately informed the Police Community Precinct in Intramuros about the supposed bomb threat. Chief Inspector Erwin Margarejo, spokesman of the Manila Police District (MPD), said operatives from the Explosives and Ordnance Division (EOD) were deployed to the school. Police asked the employees, students and visitors to temporarily evacuate from the school premises. They scoured the area using sniffing dogs but no bomb was found. "It turned out it was just the work of a prankster," Margarejo said. The bomb threat occurred a day after an improvised explosive device was thrown at a group of revelers celebrating the end of the Bar examinations near the De La Salle University (DLSU) campus in Taft Avenue also in Manila. At least 47 people, mostly students, were hurt in the incident blamed on warring fraternities. — KBK/RSJ, GMANews.TV