Extraction of vintage bomb, evacuation of Cebu I.T. Park postponed

CEBU CITY (UPDATE) – The extraction of a World War 2 vintage bomb and evacuation of buildings inside Cebu I.T. Park have been postponed for still unclear reasons. Ramil Ayuman, chairman of Barangay Apas where the I.T. Park is situated, told Rappler he was informed by officials of Cebu Holdings Inc, manager of the I.T. Park, that the extraction was called off. “I was also informed that the evacuation of buildings has also been called off,” Ayuman said. A meeting has been set Tuesday, December 19, to further discuss the extraction and evacuation plans. Ayuman admitted that he was not immediately informed of the supposed extraction and evacuation set Monday night, December 18. The cancellation of the extraction of the vintage bomb came hours after Jennifer Paglinawan, Cebu I.T. Park administrator, issued a memo informing residents and workers of at least 8 buildings to evacuate the premises. Paglinawan said residents must evacuate before midnight Monday because the extraction would take place Tuesday dawn. The buildings to be evacuated were Teleperformance, Skyrise 1 and 2, CIRS, eBlock Tower 1 and 4, Avida Towers Riala, and Avida Towers Cebu. In the advisory, Paglinawan said the construction site at 38 Park Avenue, where the vintage bomb was found, has been placed under the custody of the Cebu City Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office. Ayuman said he was relieved that Cebu Holdings invited him to Tuesday’s meeting considering that many households were located around the I.T. Park. The 27-hectare Cebu I.T. Park is where most of the city’s business process outsourcing companies are located.  More than 100,000 workers are employed in the various BPOs inside the I.T. economic zone.  “Authorities, including the Central Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit, and SWAT are working together for the disposal of the vintage ordnance,” said Paglinawan in her advisory. She added: “The public located within a 1-kilometer radius is advised to be on heightened alert while the ordnance is being extracted.” – Rappler.com