Western Visayas cops get bomb lectures
Amid lingering threats of terrorism, some 79 police officers in the region underwent a three-day seminar on bomb identification recently conducted by experts from Camp Crame at Camp Delgado here in Iloilo City.
The cops from different city and provincial police offices were given lectures on basic bomb identification and detection and practical exercises.
C/Insp. Ramil Corpuz, PO3 Jordan Bacalangco and C/Insp. Raynaldo Rocero also attended trainings on bomb threat management and bomb search behavior.
"With this, our men were taught how to address a bomb scare situation. It is part of continous education our policemen are taking," said Chief Directorial Staff S/Supt. Norlito Bautista.
In October last year, the public was alarmed after several bomb components were discovered in a parking area of Robinson's Mall here.
Mall security personnel with a K-9 dog discovered a garbage bag placed under an exhaust fan in a parking area.
When the bag was opened, authorities found inside it a blasting cap, detonating cord, three aluminum cylinders with a cellular phone battery, a mineral bottle filled with water, black powder weighing approximately 28 grams and two paper tapes.
Investigators theorized that the suspects' target was not the mall and they merely hid the materials there.
Authorities quickly regarded it as a "bomb scare" perpetrated by the New People's Army (NPA) to ease up military operations in the countryside.
(PNA)