Two campuses of Isabela State University (ISU) were consecutively disrupted by bomb threats this week, with the latest incident hitting the Echague Main Campus on Monday morning.
According to ISU President Dr. Boyet Batang in an exclusive interview with Bombo Radyo Cauayan, the Echague campus received a similar threat just days after the ISU Cauayan campus was targeted.
The bomb scare at the Echague campus began when a message was posted on the Facebook page of the College of Computer Science around 10 a.m., prompting the immediate suspension of all campus operations.
Authorities could not determine whether the person behind the message was a student or an outsider, as the account used was already deactivated by the time it was traced by the university’s cybersecurity team.
The Cauayan Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Unit was called to conduct a full sweep of the campus to ensure safety.
All students, faculty, and staff were sent home as a precautionary measure across the ISU system.
The Provincial Explosive and K9 Unit later confirmed that no bombs were found in the buildings named in the threat, specifically the College of Nursing, College of Arts and Sciences, and College of Business Accountancy and Public Administration Main and Annex.
Investigations are ongoing to identify the individual responsible for the hoax that caused panic among students, parents, and university personnel.
PCpt. Aldrin Galay, spokesperson of the Regional EOD and Canine Unit 2, confirmed that their team immediately responded following the report from Pmaj. Merwin Delos Santos.
Galay added that, similar to the Cauayan threat, specific college buildings were mentioned in the message, but thorough inspections from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. yielded no explosive devices.
In light of these incidents, university officials have sought assistance from the Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit 2 (RACU 2) to trace the origin of the threat.
Initial findings from RACU indicate the message originated from Quirino Province, though investigators are not ruling out a link between both threats.
Due to the increasing frequency of such incidents, ISU officials are calling for harsher penalties against those who commit crimes involving false bomb threats.
It can be recalled that the ISU Cauayan campus received a similar bomb threat just days earlier, which also led to class suspensions and disrupted operations.