LEGAZPI CITY – A man was arrested for allegedly making a bomb joke inside a passenger vessel in Bulan town in Sorsogon province on Wednesday.
Petty Officer 1st Class Manuel Ombao, commander of Coast Guard Sub-station Bulan, said Rodillo Cantoria, 58, of Barangay (village) Kay Duke, Torrejos town in Marinduque, shouted “May bomba!” (There’s a bomb!) at around 6:45 a.m. inside the M/V Coop SJM-6.
Cantoria made the joke while the security officers were conducting a paneling inspection with the K9 unit inside the vessel bound for San Jacinto town in Masbate province.
The authorities immediately cordoned the area and arrested the suspect after causing panic to at least 80 other passengers. Further inspection of K9 personnel with K9 dogs revealed there was no bomb
inside the vessel.
Ombao said the suspect was detained for 12 hours at Bulan Municipal Police Station for violating the Presidential Decree 1727 or the Anti-Bomb Joke law of the Philippines.
“The suspect was released but still his case will be of regular filing,” he said. /je