The Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR) has activated its enhanced cyber-monitoring, digital forensics support, and technical investigation protocol following bomb threats against two state universities in southern Negros Occidental.
On Wednesday night, the police received reports of bomb threats sent through the Messenger accounts of the Western Visayas State University campus in Himamaylan City and the Central Philippines State University main campus in Kabankalan City.
Both campuses were declared safe past midnight by response teams from the explosive ordnance disposal and local police units.
According to the PRO-NIR report, the threats cited the supposed “unfair treatment of faculty and staff to students.”
“The owner of the account was identified, but claims her account was hacked,” it added.
With these incidents, the PRO-NIR is strengthening coordination with the Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit (ACG) and ICT experts.
“We are working closely with our cybercrime investigators and information and communications technology (ICT) specialists to identify the sources of these threats and ensure that perpetrators are held accountable,” PRO-NIR director, Brig. Gen. Arnold Thomas Ibay, said in a statement.
“Through this partnership, PRO-NIR and ACG units are now implementing real-time digital monitoring and rapid tracing of online or electronic bomb threats,” he said.
The PRO-NIR is being provided with technical assistance in analyzing digital footprints, metadata, and communication patterns as part of the procedures, alongside continuous coordinated intelligence sharing between law enforcement, local government units, and ICT stakeholders.
“We call on the public to remain calm, vigilant, and cooperative. False bomb threats disrupt peace and can cause undue panic, and they are crimes with serious consequences. PRO-NIR will relentlessly pursue those who spread fear through digital means,” Ibay said. | PNA
