Over 400 K9s on Holy Week duty due to bomb threats

File photo by Niño Jesus Orbeta / Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) will dispatch over 400 service dogs to help its personnel inspect transport terminals nationwide during Holy Week in response to bomb threats last month.

“Although terminals have their own K9 dogs, we will deploy 427 police service dogs nationwide since we received a lot of bomb threats last month. They will assist us in inspecting passenger bags and buses,” the PNP spokesperson, Col. Jean Fajardo, said in a press briefing on Monday.

Last month, bomb threats hit the offices of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Science and Technology in Quezon City, the Department of Education in Bataan, and the local government of Iba, Zambales.

In February, bomb threats disrupted the daily schedule of offices — such as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Department of Science and Technology in Quezon City, the Department of Education in Bataan, and the local government of Iba in Zambales province.

An initial investigation of the Anti-Cybercrime Group indicated that the bomb threats were connected to the ones that occurred in September, October, and December last year, according to the PNP.

“These threats also extend beyond our borders, affecting neighboring countries. It has been determined that all of these incidents can be traced back to a single email sender named Takahiro Karasawa, who identified himself as a Japanese lawyer,” the PNP said in a statement.

It added, however, that the Japanese lawyer denied sending out the hoax threats.

Aside from the service dogs, Fajardo earlier said that around 34,000 police personnel will be deployed in commercial areas, terminals, and transportation hubs nationwide to ensure public safety.

Of the figure, 11,000 will be patrolling Metro Manila, and about 7,000 trained tourist police will be dispatched to major destinations.