Kasunod ng paghihigpit sa pagdadala ng mga pasahero ng likido, inamin ng pamunuan ng Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3) nitong Biyernes na may natanggap silang bomb threat bago ang pagsabog na naganap sa isang katedral sa Jolo, Sulu nitong nakaraang buwan.

“The bomb threat was sent via email and received last January 3,” saad ng pamunuan ng MRT3 sa mga mamamahayag sa pamamagitan ng Viber group message.

“It was already coordinated with the authorities, PNP-CIDG (Philippine National Police-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) for them to track down the email sender,” dagdag nito.

Ang naturang banta ang isa sa mga dahilan kaya pinaigting umano nila ang seguridad sa MRT3, partikular sa pagdadala ng mga likido tulad ng tubig na maaaring gawing "liquid bomb."

“That's one reason kung bakit po kami naghihigpit ng seguridad following recent attacks in Mindanao,” paliwanag pa nila.

Iniimbestigahan na umano ng mga awtoridad ang banta na natanggap ng MRT3.

“We just wanted to be cautious, since we have thousands of passengers daily. We do not want to compromise the safety and security of our passengers and personnel, we will not lax and we will implement a more effective security measures in our trains and stations,” anang pamunuan.

Nitong Huwebes, inulan ng reklamo ang MRT3 mula sa mga pasahero dahil maliban sa pagdadala ng inuming tubig ay ipinagbawal na rin ang pagdadala ng iba pang uri ng likido tulad ng alcohol at pabango.

Pero paliwanag ng pamunuan ng MRT3, hindi nila puwedeng isugal ang kaligtasan ng mga pasahero sa harap ng umano'y banta.

"These guidelines are based on the latest bombing incident in southern Philippines, as well as intel reports that are coming in," ayon sa MRT3.

Nitong Huwebes din, naglabas ng panuntunan ang  MRT-3 sa mga likido na maaaring dalhin ng mga pasahero.

• Baby formula / breast milk in bottles, if the passenger is travelling with a baby or small child;
• Drinking water to be used by the baby or small child;
• All prescription and over-the-counter medications;
• Liquids including water, juice or liquid nutrition or gels for passenger with a disability or life condition;
• Life-support and life-sustaining liquids such as bone marrow, blood products, and transplant organs;
• Items used to augment the body and for medical and cosmetics reasons such as mastectomy products, prosthetics breast, bras or shells containing gels, saline solution, or other liquids; and
• Gels or frozen liquids needed to cool disability or medical-related items used by persons with disabilities or medical conditions.

Mananatili umano ang mahigpit na seguridad hanggang ipag-utos ng pulisya na maaaari nang ibalik sa normal kanilang security protocols.

"It has been proven that an attack in a railway system is highly possible, and we do not want a repeat of the unfortunate incident on Dec. 30, 2000 (Rizal Day Bombings) where a number of our people died and suffered," sabi ng MRT3. "Please join us in this fight against terrorism."

Sa nangyaring pagsabog sa Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral sa Jolo noong Enero 27,  23 katao ang nasawi at nasa 90 ang nasugatan. — FRJ, GMA News