Report: Bomb scare hits Negros Oriental hall of justice

A bomb scare hit the Hall of Justice in Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental province on Wednesday afternoon, prompting the evacuation of judges, clients, and employees. Regional Trial Court Branch 38 clerk Lorraine Dinopol said a female caller claimed a bomb was in the building, the news site Visayan Daily Star reported on Thursday. Dinopol described the caller's voice as being in a hurry and frightened when she claimed that a bomb was planted in the building, the report said. The caller also used the word “kawsa (cause)," a term used by militant groups in their campaign against the ills of government, Dinopol said. Dinopol turned over the call to officer-in-charge Tootsie Infante and relayed the message to authorities. Infante said the caller identified herself as “Borja." A police bomb squad, accompanied by the Special Weapons and Tactics unit, inspected the facility and cleared it after an hour and 20 minutes. While most employees and judges went out of the building while it was being searched, some judges, including Crescencio Tan Jr., stayed inside. Tan said he suspects the caller was creating a scenario similar to that in Manila where there have been several false bomb threats recently. “To these people, if you are serious just do it, do not make calls because we are also prepared anytime for you. We’re just doing our job in this Hall of Justice so allow us to do our job," Tan said. Wednesday's bomb scare was the fourth for the Hall of Justice and the first this year in Dumaguete. The bomb scare came a week after an improvised bomb ripped through a bus in Makati City on January 25, killing at least five people. “If they (pranksters) want to sow terror, calling the attention of authorities would only jeopardize their operation. But we cannot just ignore the fact that such threat is existing," Judge Neciforo Enot said. Meanwhile, police started deploying to the Hall of Justice Thursday especially trained personnel to avert possible attacks following Wednesday's bomb threat. Provincial police chief Senior Superintendent Rey Lyndon Lawas said the move comes as one of the courts is scheduled to hear Thursday an agrarian reform-related case. Lawas said previous bomb threats received at the Hall of Justice coincided with the hearing or filing of sensitive or high-profile cases, some of which involved members of militant groups. Lawas also issued a strong warning against pranksters that they could land in jail for their actions. He cited Presidential Decree 1727 that giving false bomb threat alarms is punishable by law and constitutes five years imprisonment and a penalty of P40,000. – VVP, GMANews.TV