LOS BAÑOS, Laguna — Police arrested a woman on Sunday for cracking a joke that she was carrying a bomb as she entered a shopping mall in Trece Martires City in Cavite province, police said on Monday.
Supt. Egbert Tibayan, city police chief, said a case for violation of Presidential Decree No. 1727, known as the anti-bomb joke law, was filed on Monday against Jennifer Delantar, 38.
Tibayan said Delantar, a factory worker, entered the mall at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. As security guards inspected her shoulder bag, Delantar said, “May bomba ‘yan (There’s a bomb in it).”
He said other mall-goers heard her and got frightened.
A guard reported the incident to a police team stationed at the mall, leading to Delantar’s arrest.
“As it turned out, there really was no bomb [inside her bag]. She said she was sorry for what she did,” Tibayan said.
Delantar is detained at Trece Martires. Her offense carries a prison term of five years or a fine of not more than P40,000 or both.
Several bomb threats had been reported to the police in the provinces of Cavite, Laguna and Batangas recently. These were made through text messages, threatening to blow up schools in the cities of Bacoor, Calamba and Lipa. JE/rga
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