Students of Don Sergio Osmeña Sr. Memorial National High School in Barangay Labangon, Cebu City were sent home early Thursday, Oct. 1, after a bomb threat was posted on Facebook.
Police and the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit 7 conducted inspections of the campus and found no suspicious objects, while the PNP Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit 7 launched an investigation into the dummy account.
Local resident Evangeline Camomot Alcontin expressed fear and distress over the incident for her family living across the street, hoping those responsible will be charged and such threats will stop.
STUDENTS of Don Sergio Osmeña Sr. Memorial National High School in Barangay Labangon, Cebu City were sent home early Thursday, Oct. 1, after a bomb threat was posted on Facebook.
An account named “Carlos McGregor” posted on Wednesday night, Sept. 30, that a bomb would be sent to the school and that Senior High School students would be shot.
Principal Marlon Toyco Coniconde reported the threat to the Labangon Police Station at 11:40 p.m. Police inspected the campus at 12:30 a.m. Thursday and found no suspicious objects. Around 8 a.m., the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit 7 conducted a second sweep.
The school said both inspections showed the campus was safe, but students were sent home as a precaution.
The incident caused fear and confusion among students, teachers and nearby residents.
Evangeline Camomot Alcontin, who lives across from the campus, described the scene in an interview via Facebook Messenger.
“I don’t have a child studying at Don Sergio because mine is still in elementary school, but I was very afraid because we live directly across from the school,” she said in Cebuano.
“My 80-year-old mother is here, and my young children are also here
with me,” she added.
Alcontin hoped those responsible would be charged and that such incidents would stop.
“I really hope things like this will stop because it is the poor children, teachers and parents who become frightened and distressed.”
The PNP Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit 7 is investigating. Its preliminary findings showed that the Carlos McGregor account was a dummy profile used to make the hoax threat.
Authorities are tracing the account’s digital footprint to identify the person behind it.
The Labangon Police Station deployed additional personnel to guard the school, and students were urged to remain calm.
The school administration said the safety of its students and personnel remains its top priority. It appealed to the public not to spread unverified information. / ABC, AYB