Cops probe source of online bomb threat at Negros high school
BACOLOD CITY — Authorities are establishing the identity of the person behind a social media post that contained a false bomb threat against Bantayan National High School in Barangay Bantayan, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, disrupting the school’s intramural activities.
Police Lt. Gilbert Alunan, deputy chief of the Kabankalan City Police Station, said the post caused fear and alarm among students, teachers, and parents.
Police searched the school grounds for possible explosives and conducted a thorough inspection on Thursday, August 20, after which authorities declared the area clear of any threat.
Alunan said the school had no idea who might have targeted it or what the motive could have been.
He added that authorities are coordinating with the Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit (RACU) to trace the person responsible for the post.
Police are not ruling out the possibility that the threat was made by a student or someone outside the school.
The false bomb scare came two weeks after a reported school shooting threat involving a student in Kabankalan City.
Alunan said the student was identified and is now undergoing assessment by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
He reminded the public that prank threats are a serious offense punishable by law, warning that such incidents can cause unnecessary panic and pose safety risks to the community.