Call center pranked by bomb threat texter

MANILA, Philippines—A call center at a Quezon City mall received on Thursday morning a bomb threat which was later dismissed by policemen as a hoax.

The branch of Accenture Inc. located at the upper floors of Gateway Tower in Araneta Center, Cubao, was reportedly the third to receive a bomb threat after its Libis and Mandaluyong offices.

Quezon City Police District Cubao station commander Supt. Ramon Praneda said the threat was relayed through a text message sent around 5 a.m. on Thursday by an officer of Accenture’s human resources department. The text message read: “This is to inform you that there will be an explosion inside Gateway (Mall) at exactly 8 a.m. today.”

Praneda said the HR officer was alarmed and immediately relayed the information to management so that the call center employees could be evacuated. The bomb threat, however, was reported to the Cubao police station an hour later.

A team from the Explosives and Ordnance Division (EOD) was deployed to the area and immediately conducted bomb clearing operations at the three floors occupied by the firm. An hour later, the EOD team declared the areas clear of improvised explosive devices.—Jeannette I. Andrade