A HOAX bomb threat halted the operations of a business establishment at the downtown area in Bacolod City on Monday.

Police records showed that a store employee received a telephone call from an unidentified man at noon.

The caller told the employee, "Hulat lang kamo da kay may bomb threat kamo. Masinigabong kamo da. ISIS ni." (Just wait because you have a bomb threat. Everything will explode. This is ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria).

Police responded, checked the area, and reviewed the closed circuit television (CCTV) camera footages.

After two hours, they declared the area negative of any threat.

Senior Superintendent Jack Wanky, officer-in-charge of Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO), has warned prank callers to stop making such threats as they will be held liable for it.

He assured the public that there is nothing to worry as they already intensified their police visibility and monitoring especially in areas of convergence.

Last week, the Visayan Maritime Academy (VMA) Global College and Training Center Inc. and SM City Bacolod also received bomb threats but those were already declared hoax by the authorities.