Abandoned bag alarms priests, churchgoers in Cebu Cathedral

Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral —CHRISTIAN MANINGO/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

CEBU CITY—An abandoned bag thought to contain a bomb has caused alarm among priests and churchgoers at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral in downtown Cebu City on Thursday.

Msgr. Ruben Labajo, team moderator of the ecclesiastical seat of the Cebu Archdiocese, said a security guard found the bag near the side entrance of the cathedral around 7 a.m.

“We called up the police who in turn sought the assistance of the bomb experts,” he said.

Labajo said they were worried especially after a police dog which was sent in sat near the bag, supposedly indicating that it contained a bomb.

The responding bomb squad, however, did not find any explosive inside the bag. “It only contained clothes,” Labajo said.

The incident prompted Labajo to cancel the 12:15 noon Mass.

“I appeal to people not to leave their belongings behind as it may cause alarm. Just consider how this incident today disrupted our services,” he said.

Labajo said they would look into the closed-circuit television footages of the cathedral to find out who owns the bag.

“I guess, it is owned by a mentally challenged man who always carries a bag here,” he said./lzb