Bomb scare in Pampanga school sends 9,000 students home

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Philippines — The Pampanga High School here cancelled classes and sent about 9,000 students home on Monday morning after a bomb scare, police said.

Superintendent Ricardo David, city police director, said the PHS principal, Jennifer Cunanan, ordered the teachers to vacate the rooms at 8 a.m. under the guise of an earthquake drill, to avoid panic.

“We were scheduled to do an earthquake drill this week and I decided to hold it instead today to avoid a stampede among the students,” Cunanan told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by telephone on Monday.

The teachers were soon informed about a supposed bomb threat, which was received by a fourth year student, whom police did not identify.

Cunanan said she decided to give the police unimpeded access to look for the bomb in more than 15 buildings in the campus. They did not find any explosive.

“My priority is the safety of our students,” she said.

David said the boy received the threat through a text message sent by an unregistered sender.

After the students were sent home before noon, David said the police held a bomb-awareness training for more than 100 teachers and security personnel. This was the first time that a bomb scare disrupted classes at PHS.