WORK at the town hall in San Fernando, Southern Cebu was slightly disrupted on Friday morning, January 25, after an abandoned backpack was left behind in front of the main town structure.
Fortunately, operatives of the PNP Explosive Ordnance Division (EOD) confirmed that the contents of the gray and black bag left in front of the San Fernando municipal hall in Barangay South Poblacion only contains school supplies.
The bag was eventually claimed by its owner, a 15-year-old student of one of the public schools in San Fernando.
PO1 Maro Pulpino of the San Fernando Police Station reported that they received reports at around 7 a.m. from a concerned citizen regarding a gray and black backpack left in front of the municipal hall since Thursday night.
Pulpino said personnel from the town led by Chief Insp. Lymel John Pasquin went to the area where the said backpack was reportedly found.
With no one claiming the bag, Pasquin called the Police Regional Office 7 to send a team from EOD to check its contents.
Pasquin also ordered that a cordon be placed around the bag to ensure that residents won’t touch it.
An EOD team eventually arrived at the town at 9 a.m.
After a few minutes of checking the bag, EOD personnel eventually confirmed its contents were not explosive in nature.
Edsel Laguda, San Fernando municipal treasurer and current town spokesperson, admitted that some of their employees were a bit anxious when they heard that a possible bomb threat was happening in front of the town hall.
But Laguda added that despite the threat, work at the municipal hall remains normal.