Bomb threats empty DOJ, CA offices

Work ground to a halt for several hours at the Court of Appeals and Department of Justice (DOJ) buildings in Manila on Wednesday after both offices separately received a bomb threat, prompting an evacuation of personnel, including Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

However, after a thorough search conducted by the police and bomb-sniffing dogs came up negative, the personnel of both offices were allowed to go back inside their buildings.

The first bomb threat was made by an unidentified woman who called up the appellate court’s security office at 9:30 a.m. to say that an explosion would take place inside the main building.

Chief Insp. Arnold Santos, head of the Manila Police District’s Explosives and Ordnance Division, told reporters that his team thoroughly searched the area but did not find any bomb.

Around noon, Santos’ team was informed of another bomb threat, this time at the nearby DOJ office.

They conducted a thorough search of the building but found nothing that seemed suspicious.

“The situation is back to normal,’’ Santos said as DOJ officials, including De Lima who had gone to the nearby National Bureau of Investigation for the duration of the search, were allowed to go back to their offices at 2 p.m.

The bomb threat was reported by Assistant State Prosecutor Benito Sales who said he received a text message from Assistant State Prosecutor Niven Canlapan.

Sales told reporters that Canlapan had warned him of a bomb that had been planted in the DOJ building based on information he had gotten from the Intelligence Group of the Philippine National Police.