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 machine 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 as a consequence of give an annual State of the Nation handle.
Nationwide police chief Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr instructed reporters on Monday there was a “massive risk or chance that the 2 (incidents) are associated”.
He mentioned that, whereas police had contingency plans for “bomb threats, precise bombings and different (issues) … one thing obtained previous us and exploded in entrance of the Division of Justice”.
It was not instantly clear how massive 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 instructed AFP.
Pictures posted by Philippine media confirmed what seemed to be a car windshield cracked by the blast and a small quantity of particles.
Police mentioned in a single report that the machine 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 employees.
Personnel educated 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 machine may have produced.
Marcos’s speech on Monday comes at a time of heightened political tensions, with Vice President Sara Duterte in the midst of an impeachment trial. On the identical time, voters have additionally been roiled by a corruption scandal tied to bogus flood management tasks.
