House on heightened alert amid bomb threats to lawmakers
The House of Representatives is currently on heightened alert after some lawmakers received threats about a possible bombing at the Batasang Pambansa complex, Secretary General Reginald Velasco said on Monday. (INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO)
Updated on February 5, 2024 at 12:44 p.m.
MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives is on heightened alert after some lawmakers received bomb threats at the Batasang Pambansa complex, Secretary General Reginald Velasco said on Monday.
In an interview with reporters on Monday, Velasco refused to divulge who among the House’s over 300 lawmakers received the threat, but they are still heightening security measures to protect members.
“We don’t know, they just said that they might bomb the House of Representatives,” Velasco said. “As I’ve said, we take all these threats seriously, that’s why we have taken special precautions now.
“I have not issued a memo, but on their own, the security has been tightened, so we just want to protect the members of the House of Representatives and staff and employees of the House from any untoward incident. So I have talked with the Sergeant-at-Arms and I told him to impose strict security to all those who are entering the premises,” he added.
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Velasco said that while they do not mind the threats as they are part of the hazards that come with a public official’s job, they are still taking steps to secure the premises.
“We do that most of the time because, as you know, there have been threats being received by members of Congress, by employees, by staff from groups. Of course, we don’t mind them because that’s the hazard of our job. It’s part of working in the government. There’s no additional protection, it’s just very strict on those entering the premises,” Velasco noted.
“I cannot reveal the names of those who have received the threats, but some members have received threats, recent lang,” he added.
Velasco said they have witnessed people roaming around the Batasang Pambansa complex, which sits in the northern part of Quezon City.
“We also have witnessed some motorcycles going around, the security reported it to me, motorcycles going around the premises. That’s why we have disallowed motorcycles being parked in front of any buildings, so we have designated special parking area for all motorcycles,” he said.
“For those deliveries, we have instructed our security that deliverymen should stay at the gate and then the goods or supplies would just be picked up by representatives of the members, House members or employees,” he added.
READ: House tightens security following MSU-Marawi bombing
This is not the first time that the House went on a heightened alert during the time of the 19th Congress. Last December, Velasco said that holiday activities will continue but security was upped after the deadly bombing at the Mindanao State University (MSU) in Marawi City.
