TACLOBAN CITY — Classes at Eastern Samar National Comprehensive High School (ESNCHS) in Borongan City were suspended on Friday morning to allow authorities to conduct a bomb sweep following a bomb threat.

ESNCHS principal Dean Ernest Paul Hermano said the threat was taken seriously because it involved both a bomb and gun threat.

“Kinopya ang nangyari sa Tacloban City,” he said.

However, Hermano clarified that the threat was not new and had been posted on social media last week. The school administration immediately reported it to the Borongan City Schools District Office and the city’s chief of police.

He said the threat was discovered by “proactive students” who immediately informed school authorities.

Hermano added that a student who allegedly posted the threat on social media is currently under investigation.

The school principal did not explain why the bomb sweep was conducted only on Friday when the threat had been made a week earlier.

P/Lt. Col. Silver Cabanillas, chief of the Borongan City Police Station, said the school was declared cleared at around 8 a.m. after a bomb sweep and a comprehensive security inspection of the premises. No bomb was found.

The Borongan City Schools Division Superintendent (SDS) directed the school administration to resume classes on Friday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Department of Education regional office in Eastern Visayas said the bomb and gun threat at ESNCHS is a serious concern.

In a statement, DepEd-8 said the school followed established protocols by suspending classes upon learning of the threat.

“The Department continues to coordinate closely with law enforcement authorities as the investigation proceeds to ensure accountability and the appropriate legal actions against those responsible,” it stated.

ESNCHS is the largest public high school in Eastern Samar, with a student population of about 5,000.