Woman who "warned" of bomb attack arrested

CEBU - Police yesterday arrested the woman who allegedly sent letters to two Regional Trial Court judges to warn them of an impending bomb attack.

Erlinda Cagata, 44, of Clarita Village, Punta Princessa in Cebu City was arrested shortly before midday at the vicinity of the Mandaue City Hall of Justice after an employee of LBC Colon, the courier of the letters, identified her as the one who mailed the letters to RTC Judges Teresita Galanida of Mandaue City and Soliver Peras of Cebu City.

SPO1 Arnulfo Quiachon of the Mandaue City Police said they were able to trace the letters as having been sent through LBC.

The courier’s staff, Donie Alfante, also positively identified Cagata as the one who mailed the letters last October 8. Alfante said it was unusual that someone would send letters to a very near address through LBC.

The letter sent to Galanida had the police place the Mandaue City Hall of Justice in tight security because the Moro Islamic Liberation Font would reportedly bomb the building yesterday.

Quiachon said they later discovered that Cagata has pending estafa cases in both Galanida’s and Peras’ courts.

Ironically, Cagata’s arrest was not necessarily directly in line with the letters she sent but because of a bench warrant that Galanida had issued against her for her failure to attend the hearing of estafa case at Galanida’s court.

Quiachon said Cagata would be made to explain why she allegedly mailed the letters but Cagata was firm in denying she never did so.

Police, however, suspect that the letter threat was intended to force Galanida to postpone yesterday’s scheduled hearing of the estafa case.

Quiachon said they will submit Cagata’s handwriting to a laboratory examination to ascertain if she was indeed the one who penned the letters to the judges.

The letter sender had warned both judges of an impending bomb attack by the MILF.

She said she is a wife of a new MILF recruit and wanted to warn the judges of the plan to avoid any casualty. She even claimed that her husband had beaten her upon learning that she knew of the plan. – Fred P. Languido/JMO (THE FREEMAN)