ILOILO City – Authorities are tracking down the sender of a chilling social media message that triggered panic and forced the evacuation of hundreds of students at the University of San Agustin’s Basic Education Department in Barangay Sambag, Jaro district, following a bomb threat on Wednesday morning.
The threat, received at around 8 a.m., claimed that six timed explosives had been planted across the campus — “two at the kinder building and four at the main building.”
The sender, using the Facebook name “Sarah Bautista”, alleged the act was in retaliation for “unjust treatment” by certain teachers.
“I have planted 6 timed bombs on the campus, 2 at the kinder building and 4 at the main building. Some are set to turn off this morning. This is due to the unjust treatment of some teachers of students. Good luck,” read the message, which quickly spread among students.
Police Captain Mavin Laraño, chief of the Iloilo City Police Station 3, said a student first reported the threat, prompting an immediate lockdown and deployment of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team to the area.
After a tense two-hour sweep, the school was declared “clear” at 10:36 a.m.
“No explosives were found within the university premises,” Laraño confirmed.
However, investigators faced difficulty tracing the suspect as the sender’s Facebook profile was set to private.
“Initial investigations were hindered by the locked privacy settings of the account,” Laraño added, noting that cyber investigators are now pursuing leads to identify the person behind the hoax.
Classes were suspended for the rest of the day as a precautionary measure, while university officials assured parents and students that safety remains their top priority.
The incident has reignited calls for heightened vigilance and digital monitoring, as schools across Iloilo strengthen their security measures amid a rising trend of online hoaxes disrupting educational institutions.
Residents and members of the academic community are urged to report any suspicious online activity to the authorities./PN
