Junk shop lot yields 300 World War II bombs

SOME of the 385 bombs unearthed on land belonging to a junk shop owner in Mandaue City. PHOTO COURTESY OF MANDAUE CITY POLICE

CEBU CITY—More than 300 bombs believed to be from World War II were dug up from a lot belonging to a scrap metal dealer in Barangay Banilad, Mandaue City.

Insp. Ramil Morpos, chief of the Mandaue police, on Wednesday said workers of the scrap metal company (whose owner asked that their identities be withheld) were clearing land belonging to the company when they discovered the 385 bombs on Monday afternoon.

Morpos, however, said only 35 of the bombs were intact while the rest were hollow and disintegrating.

He said they transferred the bombs to the junkyard of the company in Barangay Looc, Mandaue City.

Police set up a security cordon around the site where the bombs were found and more policemen were sent to the area to guard it.

Morpos said police in Mandaue sought help from the regional police office and military to dispose of the bombs.

But Lt. Col. Christopher Tampus, spokesperson of the military’s Central Command (Centcom), said the command could not take custody of the bombs because it didn’t have a facility for these.

“We advised them to find a safer place which will serve as temporary storage area for the bombs,” he said.

Tampus said the bombs could not be transferred to Centcom because the military headquarters is located in an industrial area where it would not be safe to store bombs.

He said that while many of the bombs are disintegrating, these are still dangerous.