QC cops conduct bomb drill near GMA Network

MANILA, Philippines - The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) conducted a bomb drill on Wednesday near the GMA Network Center at the corner of busy Epifanio delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) and Timog Avenue in Quezon City. The drill was aimed at showing the preparedness of authorities if ever such incidents occur during the Yuletide season, Inspector Arnulfo Franco, chief of the QCPD Explosive Ordnance Division, told GMANews.TV in a phone interview. "Pinapakita lang natin ang capability and readiness ng ating kapulisan [We are just showing our capability and readiness] at any eventuality during this busy holiday season," Franco said. The drill started at 2 p.m. with a simulated "explosion" happening near a passenger bus with several people posing as victims. Then members of the mobile police force and the bomb squad swooped down to the area and inspected the bus. Fire trucks and ambulances were also deployed to the area. After several minutes, a "suspect" was arrested and a team from the Scene of the Crime Operatives took over in conducting post blast investigation. "Kunwari may sumabog na bus tapos na-render safe na at may nahuli din kaming suspect [We staged a mock explosion, then we ensured the area was safe, and then we nabbed a suspect]," Franco said. The bomb drill was staged near a string of bus terminals along EDSA that have begun to be packed with throngs of vacationers going to the provinces. The drill did not snarl traffic on the busy thoroughfare, but curious onlookers gathered at the site to check the police operation. Earlier in the day, the Pasay City Police also conducted their own bomb drill. In the Pasay bomb simulation, shoppers at the SM Mall of Asia were rattled to hear an explosion at the establishment about 11 a.m. The twin bomb drills in Pasay City and Quezon City came a day after a fragmentation grenade explosion rocked a fast food chain in Basilan’s Isabela City. - Mark Merueñas, GMANews.TV