The Davao City Police Office (DCPO) plans to build a proper storage facility for unexploded ordinance (UXOs), including vintage bombs from World War II that were unearthed due to the real estate boom in the city, DCPO head Col. Alexander Tagum said.
Tagum told reporters hours after the noontime explosion that rocked the stockroom of the Explosive Ordnance Divisions (EOD) in Camp Domingo Leonor that the UXOs, recovered from construction sites of new buildings, were stored in a storage facility away from the EOD stockroom.
The EOD stockroom stored improvised explosive devices and grenades seized from various operations in the city for evidence in court.
Tagum said it would have done more damage if the explosion had reached the storage area of the UXOs.
“Kung UXOs flattened na ning kampo namo (If UXOs had exploded, our camp would have been flattened), he said.
He added most of the detonators of the UXOs had been eroded when recovered by authorities but the danger of explosion remains when there is a fire.
“Na defuse na, primarily because of the advanced erosion ng firing devices. Wala na (They have been defused primarily because their firing devices had been in advanced erosion state. No more),” he said.
“Matagal na hinahanapan ng proper na pagtataguan o proper na disposal (We’ve been looking for a proper storage or proper disposal area). Unfortunately, ongoing pa ang request,” Tagum said.
He said the EOD team investigating the noontime explosion suspected that either a grenade or an improvised explosive devise exploded at around 11:30 a.m., prompting the police to immediately leave the camp.
He said the EOD personnel are validating how many of the explosives went off.
He said the DCPO had already requested for the transfer of the remaining explosives from its care to the Police Regional Office-Davao.
“We have to follow the EOD protocol on the proper transport and removal of explosive items. Ayaw po namin mangyari na magkaroon ng secondary explosion because of this (We don’t want to have a secondary explosion because of this),” he said.
He said the explosives such as grenades and improvised explosive device were more volatile items.
He said authorities could not dispose of these items without a court order. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
