Police to remove vintage bombs near office

ABOUT 10 other vintage bombs that were stocked earlier at the Mandaue City Police Office headquarters will soon be moved out.

Supt. James Goforth said he wanted the bombs removed from the three-feet-deep excavation in the police compound.

The pit was intended to temporarily hold the explosives for safekeeping while waiting for disposal.

Goforth said they are still waiting for orders from the Police Regional Office (PRO-7) on what to do with the bombs.

“We’ve made follow-ups thrice,” he said.

Nervous barangay Looc residents already called on police to remove the bombs immediately.

Looc Barangay Captain Raul “Pokang” Cabahug said city officials should coordinate with military authorities to speed up the removal of 385 vintage bombs that were deposited at the scrap yard of Tin Guan Trading Corp. in Looc after the owner’s grandson disclosed their location in a residential area in Banilad last Monday.

Jaime Dano, a 55-year-old resident of Ouano compound where the scrapyard is located, said he can’t sleep well thinking about the bombs.

“Even if they assure us that it won’t explode, I am still fearful,” he said in Cebuano.

Many houses s surround the gated scrapyard.

Inspector Ramil Morpos said Mandaue police have yet to verify accounts of some workers that the scrap dealer acquired the bombs for resale as scrap iron but stopped when clients abroad complained about the explosives in the shipments. Correspondent Norman V. Mendoza