Labeling mix-up behind Kalibo airport bomb scare

ILOILO CITY, Philippines—A mix-up in the labeling of a package helped trigger Tuesday evening’s bomb scare at the Kalibo International Airport, according to police.

After hours of tests and inspections, the package was found to contain a used electric motor brake of a golf cart from Boracay Island, said Senior Supt. Cornelio Defensor, Aklan police director.

“There was no explosive device found and we did not detonate anything contrary to some news reports that came out,” Defensor told the Inquirer in a telephone interview on Thursday.

But the sender of one of two packages whose labels were interchanged by the cargo forwarder LBC Express said he was subjected to police investigation and policemen even went to his house in Sultan Kudarat and asked for photographs of his.

Student Michael Agravante was also briefly questioned at the Iloilo airport Thursday morning but was allowed by security personnel to board a plane to Davao after the Aklan police said he had already been cleared.

“I was very surprised that this happened. I only sent a water heater worth P150 and my clothes in the package,” he said in telephone interview on Wednesday.

Defensor said the Boracay branch of the LBC swapped the label of Agravante’s parcel bound for Sultan Kudarat with that of the SPR Real Estate company, which contained the electric brake of a golf cart to be sent to Manila.

The parcel with the electric brake raised suspicion at the Kalibo airport after it registered a black image when it was passed through the airport’s x-ray machine at 4:48 p.m. Tuesday.

Defensor said aviation security personnel decided to open the package after they could not determine its contents despite repeated scanning. They found a thick disk-shaped metal object about 8 inches in diameter which caused alarm because the label of the package declared the contents as clothes.

Suspicions were heightened after an explosive-sniffing dog from an explosive and ordnance unit in Boracay sat on the object, an indication that there were nitrate contents.

The object was dismantled and finally determined that it was not an explosive device around 11 a.m. Wednesday, according to Defensor.

He explained that the bomb-sniffing dog must have detected the scent of the burnt brake lining and mistook it for the smell of an explosive.

“We could not rush the inspection because it was a sensitive process. But we apologize if we failed to provide information earlier which raised speculations,” he said.

Defensor assured the public that they had adequate security personnel to ensure the safety of the Kalibo airport, which is  among the country’s busiest airport catering to international flights mostly with tourists bound for Boracay Island.

“The airport security personnel were vigilant and took no chances. That’s why the package was intercepted and held,” he said.

But Defensor said additional explosive experts could hasten inspection and evaluation of suspicious cargo and other objects passing the airport.