DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Davao City Police (DCPO) says a 14-year old surrendered to them Friday claiming he was behind the hoax bomb threats that disrupted classes in schools.
Four bomb threats in two days last October 22 and 23 forced the suspension of classes in the private school Davao Wisdom Academy, public schools Mintal Comprehensive Stand-Alone Senior High School, Bangoy National High School in Sasa and Talomo National High School.
The DCPO said the youth surrendered to the Talomo Police Station following the police chief’s warning that they are tracing the source of the hoax messages.
Their report added that the suspect is a resident in Matina and has a history of being in conflict with the law.
He surrendered his mobile phone which allegedly contained several Facebook accounts he created where he spread the hoax threats to two schools.
Police investigation found that three hoax threats last week were all spread through chat messages on the schools’ Facebook pages. The messages used aliases such as “Koko Wagner”, “Dumpie Dump” and “Nako Dump” who all claimed to witness suspicious people planting a bomb inside the schools.
In the case of Davao Wisdom Academy, it was a student who received the message by a certain “Garcia”.
One such message reads : “Good day! We’ve planted bomb in your school last night evening. Anytime the bomb will explode, Don’t underestimate this message. Think wisely the time is running…”
The DCPO said that under the Juvenile Justice Act, the boy will not be charged with a criminal offense, but will be provided with counseling and home visitation from the city’s social welfare desk.
DCPO acting Director Colonel Mannan Muarip had warned the public that spreading fake bomb threats is a serious criminal offense with legal consequences, as such acts create unnecessary panic and fear among students, parents and school personnel.
“We remind the public that spreading false information, particularly about bomb threats, is a serious crime punishable under existing laws. The Davao City Police Office will not tolerate any actions that disturb the peace and safety of our schools and communities,” Murapid said.
A similar trend of hoax threats targeted schools in 2016. https://davaotoday.com/politics/5th-school-in-davao-receives-bomb-threat/
There were two hoax threats in schools reported in the past two years, one in 2023 in Santa Ana Elementary School in 2023 https://davaotoday.com/politics/crime-public-safety/bomb-scare-disrupts-elementary-classes-in-davao/ and in 2024 in Assumption College of Davao. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FiXL6D9pN/ . (davaotoday.com)
