LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- San Jose High School (SJHS) principal Juanita Lindo ordered the suspension of classes after a bomb threat was discovered by one of the teachers Thursday afternoon.
Teacher Milagros Tallongon said she noticed a bond paper with computerized notes in front door of the classroom around 1:05 p.m. Thursday in the middle of the first period of Grade 3 students of SJHS.
She said the content of the paper said, "MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) planted a bomb in San Jose High School building, three bombs are planted inside, evict your students or else 1,200 students will die at exactly 3 p.m."
Realizing what she was reading was a bomb threat, Tallongon, with the help of school cashier Carol Dup-et, immediately called the La Trinidad police station.
Upon receipt of information, La Trinidad Police Chief Inspector Freddie Lazona together with Police Regional Office-Cordillera Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD) Unit head Thrislyn Sagpaey immediately went to the school.
When the police arrived, Lindo already ordered the evacuation of the classrooms of the school and ordered the students to stay in the open spaced quadrangle in front of San Jose.
Both La Trinidad police and EOD unit conducted an ocular search of the school buildings and after a rigid inspection, both Lazona and Sagpaey declared the school safe.
In a spot report, Lazona reported no bomb or any explosive device was found inside the rooms and within the premises of the school but as preemptive measure for the students' safety, Lindo dismissed the students in the elementary and high school levels.
The school's security guard Joel Baguilat said they are still continuing their monitoring and roving of the area despite the clearance of the police to ensure the safety of students to their parents.
"Pranks like these should not be done by those who want to create fear or are just joking," Baguilat said in Filipino.
The school administration is now currently investigating if either one of their students or a prankster from outside the school wrote the bomb threat letter. (JM Agreda)