Panic gripped residents when two unexploded rifle grenades were discovered underneath a pile of garbage in Zamboanga City Saturday.
The two unexploded ordnances were found by an unnamed garbage collector who was sorting out junk in a garbage area in Barangay Baliwasan around 8:50 a.m.
Col. John Divinagracia, commander of JTF Zamboanga commander, said the garbage collector immediately reported the incident to barangay officials.
Marines and Explosive Ordnance Division (EOD) team of the local police responded to secure the bomb and cordon off the area.
"The initial investigation revealed that the two rifle grenades were sealed in the respective canisters and were mixed with the pile of garbage," Divinagracia said.
The rifle grenades were brought by the police to Camp Gen. Batalla in Barangay Cawa-Cawa, Zamboanga City for further investigation and proper disposal.
Lt. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr., commander of Western Mindanao Command, urged the people of Mindanao to continue being vigilant and report to authorities any suspicious activity they will notice.
Authorities have conducted a follow-up investigation on who dumped the grenades at the garbage area which was located on the sidewalk.