Artillery shells turned over to cops

CEBU, Philippines - Eighteen vintage artillery shells were turned over by the Lahug Elementary School to the Cebu City Police Office Explosive Ordnance Disposal yesterday following complaints from concerned citizens.

The shells were stored in the stockroom of the school right next to the Grade 1 classrooms for almost 15 years.

“This can cast fear in the area. That is why we need to get the vintage shells to ensure peace of mind of the teachers, parents and the students,” CCPO director Melvin Ramon Buenafe said.

The EOD Team, headed by Supt. Arnel Banzon, CCPO deputy for operations, said the shells were used in 105mm howitzers which were the standard light field artillery of the US Army in World War II.

Retired teacher Manuel Endig, 65, said the shells were reportedly given by American soldiers to the locals after the war.

Endig said that the shells were already disarmed by the Americans before they were used as decorations somewhere along Gorordo Ave. in the late 1960s.

A few years later, he said the shells were transported to their school and were used as decoration for the school’s flagpole.

“The shells were planted around the flagpole as decoration. However, the school administration removed the shells after receiving complaints from parents,” he said in Cebuano.

Endig kept the shells inside a stockroom. He retired only last March.

Liza Jabida, school Property Custodian, said she did not know vintage shells were kept inside their stockroom.She said she never understood why Endig kept the room locked for years and it was only yesterday when she knew about the contents of the room. 

Reports say the school grounds were used as a garrison during the Japanese occupation. 

The shells are now stored inside a container van at the CCPO headquarters together with other vintage artillery unearthed in Cebu City in the past few years.  (FREEMAN)