On the morning of November 7, the Taguig local government unit (LGU) was live streaming the city hall flag-raising ceremony for the National Children’s Month on its Facebook page ‘I Love Taguig.’ During this, an account by the name “Sofia Smith” started posting comments stating they would “kill all the students at Signal village” with an explosive. Consequently, the comments induced fright and panic among students, parents, and teaching staff present at the ceremony. 

In a video report shared on November 14, by Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano and Chief of Police Colonel Robert Baesa, Lieutenant Colonel Jay Guillermo of the PNP Anti-Cybercrime group stated that following the bomb threats, the police tracked the IP address, location, mobile number, and real identity of the person behind the account “Sofia Smith.” 

After determining the identity of Sofia Smith, the 16-years-old student, and confiscating the cell phones belonging to the suspect, the police continued with the forensic investigation of the cell phones. Further investigation deduced that there were multiple log-ins on numerous Facebook accounts by the same IP address, indicating that the suspect’s account may as well have accomplices in making the bomb threats. 

Reportedly, the student sought support from a former street sweeper who was bitter over being fired by the school authority. The two accused are now in police custody facing charges for the threatening comments and act of terrorism, for which the accused could be charged with at least 12 years of imprisonment.

In regards to the case, Mayor Maria Laarni “Lani” Cayetano says that she will let the law take its course. Adding to this, she appealed to “not make the situation worse” by conducting any harmful action against “Sofia Smith,” taking into consideration that she is a minor.