Filipino community in Italy responds to bomb threats in schools

ROME, Italy — Filipino mothers and working parents rushed from their workplaces on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, to collect their children following a wave of bomb threats across roughly 6,300 schools in Italy.

Sherin Belando said she rushed to be with her youngest child, Angel, after receiving alert about a bomb threat through the school's digital application, ClasseViva.

Shortly after receiving the notification, she also received a phone call from a teacher, reminding parents to collect their children as soon as possible.

As teachers hurried to evacuate the students, Angel was sent out of the school without a jacket and without her school bag.

Angel later told her mother that the teacher had explained the situation was an emergency evacuation drill and the students were to move quickly and to follow directions. The children’s safety took priority over their personal belongings.

Meanwhile, Sherin also received a message from her eldest daughter, Alyssa, who attends high school, informing her they were also being sent home.

The school notifications were sent out as a wave of bomb threats targeting approximately 300 schools across Italy on Wednesday, November 11, triggered widespread concern among parents, including members of the Filipino community, and prompted emergency evacuations.

Filipino parents took to social media

The incident also prompted several Filipino parents to take to social media to share updates and express their concerns.

In a Facebook group post, Maricel M. Sison, who is based in Modena, asked how Filipino parents were coping, particularly those who were at work when they received notifications about the bomb threats targeting schools.

Meanwhile, Mealyn Baoit also shared her concern. In her post, she described seeing mothers rushing around in a state of worry and distress trying to ensure their children’s safety.

She ended her message with a heartfelt prayer, asking the Lord to watch over and protect everyone.

According to Italian media reports, the threats originated from an email signed by an individual identifying himself as ‘Mikhail Andropov’, who claimed to be the leader of a group calling itself Vilayat of Misoginistan.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement that there was currently no indication of an immediate and concrete threat.

Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara told Italian TV that about 300 schools across Italy had received the threats, but downplayed them as related to cyber attacks and not a “genuine risk.”

Following numerous nearly simultaneous calls to Italy’s emergency number 112 from hundreds of schools, police officers and Carabinieri immediately responded to the reports.

Police and Carabinieri continued their inspections at the affected institutions. In some schools, security checks had already been completed and the alarms lifted, while operations remained ongoing at others. — BAP, GMA News