ILOILO — Treating the wave of bomb threats as a full-blown public safety crisis, Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. on Wednesday placed a ₱100,000 bounty on the heads of the perpetrators, vowing to use every available resource and agency capacity to identify and apprehend them.
The reward — approved during an emergency meeting of the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) — marks the strongest action yet from the provincial government after successive bomb threats forced the evacuation of schools and interrupted classes across Iloilo City and Iloilo Province.
“We are offering P100,000 reward for any useful information that could effectively or lead to something concrete in the identification and arrest of those behind the recent bomb threats,” Defensor told reporters following the PPOC meeting.
He described the threats as a serious disruption that must be addressed “swiftly,” noting that law enforcement agencies are now operating in full coordination mode.
“There are agencies that will help us. The investigation is underway. Nalipay kita kay our agencies are collaborating, nagabuligay ang aton mga law enforcement agencies in the area of intelligence, and of course their capacities. Maayo ang trabaho sang aton mga ahensya,” he said.
Defensor also revealed that authorities already have working leads and are leveraging technology to tighten the investigation’s focus.
“May mga leads, we can add on using technologies — naga-narrow down ang mga possibilities. [Give] it a little time — it is progressing and we will hit the mark, may mga proseso lang nga gina-agyan but our agencies work on that,” the governor added.
Earlier on Wednesday morning, Defensor floated the idea of a reward but stressed that law enforcement agencies have historically delivered results even without financial incentives.
“We will see kung kinahanglan naton ina. Maayo gid nga may ara but we have worked with the NBI and our partnered agencies before without a reward and they delivered,” he said.
The province’s bounty comes after Iloilo City’s Mayor Raisa Treñas-Chu also offered ₱100,000 for information that could crack the case — doubling public pressure to unmask the culprits behind the threats that have now affected schools across two jurisdictions.
With two local governments now offering rewards and a coordinated investigation underway, officials are banking on public cooperation to break the case open — and restore calm to schools shaken by a spate of anonymous threats./PN
