A weary traveler left a bag containing P10,800 at a loading bay in Quezon City but later recovered it after police were called in to check if the bag contains a bomb.
When the police called up 78-year-old Purificacion Espino’s daughter yesterday for her mother to claim the bag and money, she was hesitant to provide information.
She called up an elementary school classmate, retired Philippine National Police chief Avelino Razon Jr., to verify if indeed the call came from the police.
Razon then called up Quezon City police director Senior Superintendent Magtanggol Gatdula.
When Espino met with Quezon City police officials yesterday, she said she had left everything up to fate.
“I thought maybe the one who found the bag was a poor person who needed it (money) more than I did,” she said.
Espino said she might have left the bag at the loading bay after she boarded a taxicab upon returning from Baguio City that morning.
She thought all her three bags were still with her when she was dropped off at the loading bay by a passenger bus, she added.
Espino said while in the taxi, she noticed she only had two bags, prompting her to return to the bus terminal where she was told that the bus conductor made sure all her three bags were dropped off when she alighted at the loading bay.
Senior Superintendent Neri Ilagan, Quezon City police Mobile Force chief, said Espino’s bag was found at the corner of Edsa and West Avenue in Quezon City, causing a bomb scare among people on Wednesday.
“It (bag) was left unattended at a loading bay of the MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority),” he said.
“Because of public awareness about the SOP (standard operating procedure) concerning such unattended packages, the people called on the police and we sent an EOD (Explosives and Ordnance Division of the QCPD-DMF) to the site.” The bag did not have any identification of the owner except for a cellular phone, pocketbooks, and a greeting card, among others, Ilagan told reporters yesterday.