PANIC broke out among customers of a coffee shop in Davao City Saturday night when an unidentified man left a black garbage bag by the shop’s door, saying: "Special delivery!"
There was no explosive, however, inside the bag.
Authorities reported that around 20 customers were inside Zabadani Café owned by Wadi Mutia when the man placed the bag right outside the door around 7 p.m.
One of the customers, Jeza Ancheta, informed Mutia about the bag.
Mutia and a male customer then moved the bag farther away before calling the 911 hotline.
Five minutes later, a police team led by Police Officer 1 Jerry Jaron arrived. The policeman, after looking at the sealed bag, called the bomb squad, which arrived within 10 minutes with a canine.
Members of the bomb squad opened the bag after the dog did not show any sign that it contained anything explosive.
While visibly irritated by the false alarm, Jaron said: "Pero alam naman naming parte ito sa trabaho namin, siyempre mabuti ring talagang walang masamang nangyari."
"Typicaly kasi ginagawa ng mga may masasamang intensyon ito sa mga lugar na maraming tao. Ang gusto kasi nila mas maraming maapektohan ng kanilang masamang intensyon," Jaron added.
Mutia expressed relief, saying while he was not inclined to believe that someone out there intends to cause harm to his establishment, the best recourse is still to act with caution. (JCZ)