Tool box causes bomb scare and traffic jam in Makati
MANILA, Philippines—An abandoned tool box thought to contain explosives caused a bomb scare and heavy traffic Monday morning on at least four Makati streets that are normally busy on weekdays.
The aluminum tool box with a transparent plastic cover, according to the Makati City Police Explosives and Ordnance Division, was found outside the Mini Stop convenience store on the ground floor of the Peninsula Court building on Paseo de Roxas and Makati Avenue around 9 a.m.
It was reported to the authorities two hours later by the security guard of the convenience store who became suspicious of the box.
Members of a work crew from a CCTV company went to the police hours later to say the tool box was theirs and they had forgotten it outside the store after they were told by the building’s management they could not install their electronic surveillance gadget for lack of a permit.
SPO1 Richmond San Pedro said that when they destroyed the box with a water disruptor they found tools such as pliers, wires, a voltage tester and wrenches inside.
Investigators said that someone might have just forgotten the box in the area early Monday morning.
Though no explosive device was found inside the tool box, the suspicious package caused heavy traffic on Paseo de Roxas, Makati Avenue, Ayala Avenue and Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue (formerly Buendia) as vehicles were not allowed to pass near the area where the tool box was discovered.
The EOD team said they asked people nearby to vacate the area while they conducted visual search and destroyed the box. When the Inquirer arrived in the area, the convenience store was already closed with its employees remaining inside the business establishment.
At around 1 p.m., a van carrying about five men stopped in front of the convenience store and as if they were looking for something. They wore shirts which indicated they worked for a company installing closed-circuit television cameras. But the men left quickly.
The police, however, could not say if the tool box belonged to these men as no one had come forward to say they owned it.
Police Chief Insp. Libreto Buisan confirmed to the Inquirer that employees from Digital CCTV Philippines came to their office on Monday afternoon and admitted that the box was theirs.
Buisan said that the men who were supposed to install CCTV cameras at the convenience store early Monday morning but lacked a permit from the building’s management, so they decided to go to other Mini Stop stores where no permits were required.
“When they arrived at another branch, it was the only time when they noticed that their toolbox was missing,” Buisan added.
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