Bomb threat halts PSE trading

(Updated 12:55 p.m.)Tension gripped the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) in Makati City after it received a bomb threat Thursday, prompting authorities to halt midway the two-and-a half hour trading session. PSE president and CEO Val Antonio Suarez ordered the offices and the trading floor vacated, according to the PSE Corporate Communications Group. The police and a private security group were called in to search the premises for any explosive device, the PSE said.. "We halted trading for security reasons. We implemented evacuation measures immediately for the safety of employees and trading participants. We will resume trading upon clearance from police authorities," PSE President and CEO Val Antonio Suarez told GMANews.TV via SMS.

Just past noon, the PSE website showed that trading had been halted until further notice. GMANews.TV

As of 12:30pm in the Philippines, the PSE website still showed that trading has been put to a halt until further notice. At around noon, the trading participants as well as staff and personnel of the exchange, were allowed to return to their offices, the PSE said. The PSE management decided to resume the session at 1:00 p.m. Radio dzBB's Denver Trinidad reported the Makati City police sent teams to the building to search it for supposed explosives. Makati City police chief Senior Superintendent Froilan Bonifacio said they received information about a bomb threat at the PSE's Tower 1. Only a few employees were seen evacuating the building, the report said. Bonifacio said they sent K9 and Explosives and Ordnance Division teams to the building after receiving a call about the bomb threat. –VVP/TJD/VS, GMANews.TV