14 September 2005
Bomb scare at city plaza
A SUSPECTED bomb placed in an ice box made of styrofoam and left at the city plaza here momentarily spawned a bomb scare in the area.
This happened at about the same time congressmen were holding a nominal voting on the report of the justice committee at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City on the impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Not leaving anything to chance, members of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team of the Dagupan Police blew up the ice box, after making sure it was wedged in with old car tires before 4 p.m. Tuesday. The SWAT used a C-4 bomb attached to a fuse and battery charger to blow up the suspect package.
The ice box however turned out to contain nothing but rubbish that may have been left hours before by park habitués and even picnickers.
Members of the SWAT, in full battle gear, arrived in the area after the police received a call from a plaza security guard who discovered the ice box near the left side portion of the plaza stage.
This was where a big number of school pupils and students, and members of a band were crowding at that time.
Approximately three kilos in weight, the ice box was lifted by SWAT men with the use of a long cord tied to the trunk of a tree and placed in the middle of the plaza where it was detonated at about 3:45 p.m.
At that time, no city official was aware of the unfolding event in the city plaza as they were too busy watching on television the impeachment proceedings against Mrs. Arroyo in the House of Representatives. (PNA)
This happened at about the same time congressmen were holding a nominal voting on the report of the justice committee at the Batasang Pambansa in Quezon City on the impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Not leaving anything to chance, members of the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team of the Dagupan Police blew up the ice box, after making sure it was wedged in with old car tires before 4 p.m. Tuesday. The SWAT used a C-4 bomb attached to a fuse and battery charger to blow up the suspect package.
The ice box however turned out to contain nothing but rubbish that may have been left hours before by park habitués and even picnickers.
Members of the SWAT, in full battle gear, arrived in the area after the police received a call from a plaza security guard who discovered the ice box near the left side portion of the plaza stage.
This was where a big number of school pupils and students, and members of a band were crowding at that time.
Approximately three kilos in weight, the ice box was lifted by SWAT men with the use of a long cord tied to the trunk of a tree and placed in the middle of the plaza where it was detonated at about 3:45 p.m.
At that time, no city official was aware of the unfolding event in the city plaza as they were too busy watching on television the impeachment proceedings against Mrs. Arroyo in the House of Representatives. (PNA)
