Bomb components found in Manila hotel

MANILA, Philippines - The Manila Police District is looking for a man who left bomb components in a room he booked at a hotel in Ermita, Manila yesterday.

A roomboy found more than 100 shells for an M16 rifle and 12-gauge shotgun as well as pipe bomb tubes in the room of the Santos Pension House along Mabini street.

The room’s last occupant logged in under the name Jonathan Jose and gave Baguio as his address, according to Police Officer 2 Romulus Ramilo. Employees said the man entered the hotel sporting long hair Monday afternoon, and checked out at around 4 a.m. yesterday, his head already shaved. He had several pieces of luggage with him, they said.

Inspector Arnold Santos, MPD explosives and ordnance division chief, said the man could have assembled pipe bombs in the room and left. The establishment has no closed-circuit television cameras.

Santos said it is too early to say if the man is a member of a terrorist group.

Investigators said the hotel is close to a mall frequented by students and tourists.

Santos told ABS-CBN that one of the pipe bombs is strong enough to damage a house.