PH ASKS JAPAN TO PROBE HOAX BOMB THREATS

THE Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) is coordinating with the Japanese government to conduct a thorough investigation into the hoax bomb threats received by several government agencies in the Philippines.

“Efforts are now on the way to request the Japanese government to investigate thoroughly and identify the sender,” the CICC said in a statement, a few hours after at least six government agencies and local government units (LGUs) received bomb threats.

Among the agencies that received the bomb threats are the Department of Education (DepEd) division office in Bataan, the local government of Iba in Zambales province, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) head office in Quezon City.

The CICC said the email received apparently containing the bomb threats originated from Japan. It had a locally registered domain name that also hit multiple government agencies in Seoul, South Korea.

“There is no cause for alarm as this sender and email has been tagged as hoax,” the CICC said.

It added that a similar bomb threats also hit several government agencies last year.

The CICC, however, clarified that affected government agencies were advised to practice their respective emergency evacuation procedures as part of their preparedness efforts and emergency protocols.