The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced on Tuesday that the bureau had initiated an inquiry over an alleged Japanese individual who sent a bomb threat to government offices.

BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that he has ordered a thorough investigation into the identity of the said Japanese.

The BI chief added that on Monday, 12 February, several government agencies received a bomb threat via email from a certain Takahiro Karasawa.

In the email, Karasawa claimed that at around 3:34 p.m. on 12 February, bombs would rock the major Philippine government agencies. However, no such incident was recorded.

Tansingco also stated that his agency will be working with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to determine whether the suspect is indeed in the country.

"We will also be verifying if this is his real identity or if he is a prankster using a fictitious name," he added.

Tansingco warned that they would immediately be able to implement hold orders, blacklist orders, or arrest warrants issued against the suspect. The national government is not taking this lightly. Any security threat shall be met with the harshest penalties of the law.

According to the bureau, a quick check of its database revealed at least four namesakes who are all not in the country.

The BI said that it will forward the results of their verification to the NBI and DOJ to assist in the investigation.

It was also reported a few years ago that an individual bearing the same identity had made similar threats against other countries.