A 19-YEAR-OLD student of the Cebu Technological University (CTU) Main Campus who allegedly circulated a bomb threat at the school during midterm exams was apprehended by operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 on Friday, Oct. 25, 2024.
NBI 7 Director Rennan Oliva said the student’s arrest resulted from a coordinated operation with their counterpart in Manila.
The suspect, whose name has been withheld, was a former Psychology student who later shifted to Early Childhood Education and is now a first-year student at CTU Main Campus on M.J. Cuenco Ave. in Cebu City.
Marvey Ocampo, dean of student affairs, collaborated with the NBI to trace the source of a threat posted on social media on Monday, Oct. 21, at 6 a.m. by an individual named “John Steve,” claiming a bomb would explode on campus within five hours.
The post included an image of C4 explosives attached to a cellphone, prompting university authorities to alert local police immediately.
Ocampo said the threat caused major disruption for instructors and students on the first day of midterm exams.
As a result, the Cybercrime Division of the NBI Manila arrived in Cebu that same day to assist with the investigation.
The NBI was able to trace the suspect through her phone number and IP address listed on several social media platforms.
The recovered phone number matched a student’s record in school files. Using this information, the NBI launched an operation and located the suspect at her home in Mandaue City on Tuesday, Oct. 22.
Authorities seized two cell phones and a SIM card from
the suspect.
According to NBI 7, the suspect claimed someone she met on social media instructed her to make the threat, though she declined to provide
further details.
The suspect will face charges for violating Presidential Decree 1727, or the Anti-Bomb Joke Law, and Republic Act 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
She is also expected to face disciplinary action from
the school.
Oliva said the arrest should serve as a lesson and a warning to others who are planning to make threats.
“This will serve as a warning to those who do these kinds of criminal acts which threatened the safety and lives of citizens,” Oliva said on Friday, Oct. 25.
“Bomb joke is not something you take likely, just like sa CTU. The school had to suspend classes, evacuate the students, use the resources of the government. Ang PNP pumunta sa (Police went to the) school to look for the bomb, so the NBI does not take this lightly, we will file the appropriate charges if you engage in this criminal act,” he added.
The NBI director added that making jokes about bomb threats is serious since it can endanger the safety of others.
The suspect, however, posted a bail of P30,000.
Aside from CTU Main Campus, another bomb threat was reported the same day at the Cebu Institute of Technology—University, prompting the suspension of classes.
So far this year, four universities in Cebu have been victimized by bomb threats online, but they turned out to be fake.
During inspections by authorities, no explosives were found, while the culprits remained at large.
On Sept. 21, a bomb threat at the University of Cebu (UC) Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue Campus led to an immediate suspension of classes after a post circulated online, while on Aug. 13, a post alleging multiple grenades hidden at the UC Banilad Campus went viral, also resulting in class suspension. / ANV, EHP