Peace council forms task force to defuse bombs

Thursday, February 2, 2012

A BOMB disposal task force was formed yesterday by the Cebu City Peace and Order Council along with the Cebu City Police Office and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

The Bureau of Fire Protection and the Emergency Rescue Unit Foundation will be among the support groups of the task force.

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CCPO Director Melvin Ramon Buenafe said they created the task force to deal with the 25 vintage bombs dug up in the South Road Properties (SRP) in Cebu, City last month.

“If ever certain scenarios might occur again, there will already be a team that will handle it,” explained Buenafe.

The creation of the task force came as a Cebuano congressman called on fellow legislators to conduct a House inquiry on the capability of the country’s police force and other law enforcement agencies in handling explosives.

Legislation aid

Rep. Gabriel Luis “Luigi” Quisumbing (Cebu, Sixth fistrict) filed House Bill 2101 in view of recent bomb threats and the discovery of the 25 vintage bombs, believed to be from World War II.

Quisumbing is asking the House committee on public order and Safety and related committees to conduct an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on whether the Philippine National Police and the other agencies are capable of dealing with life-threatening scenarios involving explosives.

He also wants law enforcement agencies to ensure effective response measures to such situations, especially after the explosion of a vintage bomb that cops allegedly tried to defuse in a welding shop in Taguig City, killing four people and wounding nine others.

Quisumbing also noted incidents such as the Sept. 26, 2010 Bar Exam blast, which left 47 people injured, mostly law students.

“With these foregoing incidents, it’s high time that the PNP and other concerned agencies review their bomb threat procedures and protocols to effectively deal with and prevent any critical incident that may occur, such as bomb threats and other criminal or violent attacks on public peace and order,” the sixth district congressman said.

Duties

In Cebu City, Buenafe said the task force will have different components that will be assigned different duties.

He explained that the duties and responsibilities of the task force will consist of three phases: preparation, execution and post-detonation phase.

The preparatory phase will include securing the area, inspecting the site, and meeting up with the concerned agencies.

The loading, transporting and actual exploding of the bombs will be done in the execution phase.

The post-detonation phase will include documentation, examination, and the checking of the environment where the bomb was detonated.

“This is very useful in case we discover more bombs. The task force will be the one assigned to this. At least we won’t have a hard time figuring out what to do,” said Buenafe.

Of the 25 vintage bombs, only one was detonated in a mining pit in Toledo City last Saturday.