The black laptop bag was bulky and heavy and was left unattended in a busy area in Quezon City, causing alarm among passersby and vendors on Friday night.
True enough, the bag contained something that was smoking hot: newly cooked rice.
According to SPO4 David Gundayao, team leader of the Explosives and Ordnance Division (EOD) of the Quezon City Police District, passersby and vendors saw the unattended bag along Commonwealth Avenue Friday night.
He said EOD operatives responded to a call from a concerned citizen around 9:10 p.m., with bomb experts immediately clearing the area and redirecting traffic.
“But when we opened the bag, it only contained cooked rice,” Gundayao said.
“It was actually still smoking hot.”
The official said the bag was very bulky, raising concerns from bystanders about a possible improvised explosive device. “When we saw what was inside, our anxiety immediately [vanished],” Gundayao said, adding that the bag contained enough cooked rice to fill a rice cooker.
Bystanders reported that a woman, possibly with mental illness, was earlier seen walking around the area and might have left the bag.
Officials left the recovered evidence to the police patrolling the area. “Just in case someone looks for it,” Gundayao said.