BATAC CITY, Ilocos Norte — The Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) received another bomb threat Monday, prompting concerns among students and faculty. Sources familiar with the situation, confirmed the incident.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) immediately responded and was seen assessing the situation on campus.

In an official statement posted on its Facebook page, MMSU clarified that the incident was merely an “unscheduled security drill” to assess the campus’ preparedness for potential threats. The university assured that the drill had concluded successfully and that all classes would resume as usual.

“We extend our gratitude to the Ilocos Norte Provincial Police Office for their assistance in ensuring the smooth and effective execution of this drill,” MMSU stated.

This is not the first time MMSU has been targeted. On 13 November last year, a similar bomb threat led to the evacuation of the university and a temporary shift to asynchronous classes. Authorities later declared the threat a hoax.

Despite this, sources privy to the situation claim that what transpired was not a drill, contradicting the university’s official statement.

Meanwhile, a social media post that initially circulated said the alleged threat was found to have used images from separate bomb threat incidents, as confirmed by a reverse image search.