“Bomb threats are not jokes. They are crimes. Hindi lang ito nakakapag-antala ng klase, sinisira nito ang tiwala sa awtoridad at nagpapahirap sa buong komunidad,” said Iloilo 1^st District Rep. Janette Garin in her privilege speech.

Garin delivered a privilege speech at the House of Representatives on November 18, 2025,  warning perpetrators of bomb threats.

Garin called on authorities to make the identification of the culprits urgent, as the series of bomb threats has already brought trouble, inconvenience, and distress especially in the education sector in Iloilo City, Iloilo, Antique, and Guimaras recently.

Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor, Jr. said that the matter is taken seriously by the province.

“Seryoso ang bagay na ito, may mga batas tayo that together with the other agencies, we will investigate. Maayos na pagkuha ng ebidensya at kung mailagay sa tama ang ebidensya, maayos ang maisasampa nating kaso. Seryoso ang bagay na ito and we will pursue this upang hindi na magpatuloy,” Defensor stressed.

From evening of November 18, 2025 to November 19, five schools in the Provinces of Iloilo, Antique, and Guimaras received bomb threats. These are the Iloilo National High School, St. Robert’s International Academy, West Visayas State University - Lambunao campus, University of Antique, and Remedios E. Vilches National High School.

Based on data from the Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO), a total of 29 bomb threats were received by 15 colleges and high schools in Iloilo City in 2025. In 2024, there were only three bomb threats.

ICPO said they are doing the best they could, but tracking down the culprits is quite challenging. It was pointed out there is a huge possibility that students are behind the series of bomb threats.

“We have a historical incident with regards to that na meron sa ISAT U [Iloilo Science and Technology University] last year na nakasuhang estudyante. Most probably ang gumagawa is mga estudyante. But we have to consider also other possibilities,” Colonel Kim Legada, ICPO director, said.

Meanwhile, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 6 has warned the culprits. Aside from a case for violation of Presidential Decree 1727 which comes with five-year imprisonment and P40,000 fine, the perpetrators can also be charged for violation of Republic Act 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 with stiffer penalties.

“Under Section 6 ng naturang law, if you commit a crime whether it’s punishable by the Revised Penal Code or special law, ang penalty na i-impose sa accused is higher by one degree. Depende naman kung ilang counts ang ginawa nya,” said Atty. Arnold Diaz, NBI 6 assistant director.

According to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) 6, they alreadyu received a request from the police to help in the investigation. However, NTC 6 is limited to threats done using Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards.

“Whatever information na kailangan ng assistance ng ating investigating authorities especially coming from PNP, RACU, NBI, we immediately endorsed that to the respective telecommunication providers,” Atty. Deo Virgil Tan, legal officer of NTC 6, said.