MANILA: A selfmade bomb detonated close to the doorway of the Philippine justice ministry early on Monday (Jul 27), officers mentioned, hours earlier than a suspected unexploded system was discovered close to the nation’s Senate.
The explosion simply after midnight, which resulted in no casualties, and the invention of the second suspected bomb got here hours earlier than Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos was attributable to give an annual State of the Nation tackle.
Nationwide police chief Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr informed reporters on Monday there was a “huge chance or likelihood that the 2 (incidents) are associated”.
He mentioned that, whereas police had contingency plans for “bomb threats, precise bombings and different (issues) … one thing bought previous us and exploded in entrance of the Division of Justice”.
It was not instantly clear how giant the early morning blast had been.
“We’re nonetheless investigating, so we can’t offer you particulars on how huge or small the explosion was,” Manila police spokesman Philipp Ines informed AFP.
Photos posted by Philippine media confirmed what seemed to be a automobile windshield cracked by the blast and a small quantity of particles.
Police mentioned in a single report that the system on the Senate had been noticed on a road abutting the constructing simply earlier than 8.30am by a tow truck driver, who alerted safety workers.
Personnel skilled in dealing with explosive ordnance eliminated materials from the scene that included a blasting cap, clock and a jar containing a “brown powder” for testing.
Regional police spokeswoman Hazel Asilo declined to estimate the dimensions of the explosion the system may have produced.
Marcos’s speech on Monday comes at a time of heightened political tensions, with Vice President Sara Duterte in the course of an impeachment trial. On the identical time, voters have additionally been roiled by a corruption scandal tied to bogus flood management tasks.
