Bomb left inside Manila-bound bus in Cavite

An example of an improvised explosive device attached to a cell phone (INQUIRER FILE PHOTO)

SAN PEDRO CITY, Laguna — An improvised explosive device was found inside a Manila-bound passenger bus in Dasmariñas City in Cavite province on Thursday.

Edwin Costes, president of the Jasper Jean bus company, said they received a report around 10:30 a.m. Thursday,l that a bomb was found under the seat of the bus while in its terminal in Cavite fetching passengers for Manila.

Costes, quoting reports from the bus driver, said a passenger found a backpack left under the seat. The passenger brought the bag to the attention of the driver, who opened it and found a bomb with a cellphone inside.

The driver asked the passengers to disembark and immediately took the bag with its contents to a nearby police station.

“There are reports that the phone even rang but we are still confirming it,” Costes told the Inquirer. As of 3 p.m., the bus unit was still in the custody of the police undergoing inspection.

“We are still in the process of determining (whether) it’s a vintage round or if it’s a live round (type of bomb). (But) what is certain is that it has no capacity to explode,” the Cavite police information officer, Supt. Janet Arinabo, said in a text message.

Costes said the company has not received any prior threat and that they have left the investigation to the authorities.  SFM