BACOLOD City – The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) were ordered by Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez to fast track their investigation on recent threats received by Saint John Institute (SJI).
The mayor had a meeting with representatives of the SJI, BCPO director Colonel Thomas Joseph Martir and NBI-Bacolod chief Renoir Baldovino on Dec. 15.
SJI, the only Chinese Catholic-inspired school in Bacolod City, had received several bomb threats.
In a statement, Benitez stated in the mayor’s official Facebook page: “The threats SJI has been receiving have come to my attention.”
The mayor condemned the threats.
“Ginakondenar naton ang biskan ano nga sahi sang violence that threatens the security and public safety of Bacolod specifically sa mga kabataan nga nagaeskwela sa SJI,” Benitez said.
He added, “The NBI and PNP (Philippine National Police) are already on top of this.”
Meanwhile, part of a Facebook post by the SJI Supreme Student Council reads, “The recent spate of hate messages shouldn’t be a reason for us to shed our IDENTITY.”
“Those messages aren’t Christ-centered but we can remain so. Those messages aren’t in accord with the values of a Johnian and it is sad that they are amongst us,” the post added.
It further stated: “The season of Christmas reminds us that we are all called to be sons and daughters of God. We can neither allow these few lost souls to remove our peace nor to forget that God is good. Let us altogether pray for these very disturbed persons. May God’s Light pierce their darkness.”/PN
