Detonation of 29 vintage bombs set today in Toledo City open mining pit

THE detonation of 28 World War II bombs and one 1,000-pound bomb excavated at the Asiatown IT Park in barangay Lahug, Cebu City, back in 2010 will be held today in an open mining pit in Toledo City.

The military’s Central Command (Centcom) said it already received clearance from Camp Aguinaldo to use 125 units of C4 to detonate the bombs, which will be set off in three holes each measuring six feet deep.

Centcom spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Tampus said the military-grade C4 explosives each cost P1,400.

The 28 vintage bombs were unearthed by construction workers in Kawit Island, South Road Properties (SRP), last Jan. 23.

The C4 blocks arrived in Cebu City at 3 p.m. last Thursday.

The bombs will be detonated in a mining pit owned by Carmen Copper Corp. (CCC) in Toledo City.

Philip Zafra, chief of staff of Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama, said the bombs will be transported to the mining compound starting at 4 a.m.

Disposal will start at 11 a.m.

Zafra said geodetic engineers and staff from the city’s Geographic Information System (GIS) of Cebu City Hall were sent to inspect the CCC’s Biga Pit last Thursday.

They determined how the disposal of the vintage bombs will affect nearby installations.

Zafra said the group spotted a military antenna two kilometers away, but this was considered far enough from the disposal area.

Residential areas were also located two kilometers uphill from the bomb disposal site.

Senior Supt. Melvin Ramon Buenafe, Cebu City police chief, said the bombs should be detonated as soon as possible.

Buenafe, who chairs the new task force in charge of bomb disposal, said government agencies like the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) would assist Centcom during the detonation. Chief of Reporters Doris C. Bongcac, Correspondents Chito Aragon and Rhea Ruth V. Rosell