Police recovered and safely neutralized a suspected improvised explosive device (IED) discovered near the Senate building in Pasay City on Monday morning, hours before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s State of the Nation Address.

The device was found at around 8:23 a.m. on the center island along Diokno Boulevard, Barangay 76, after it was spotted by a passing employee of Gringo Towing Service.

According to police, the employee, Orlando Ceramica, alerted authorities after noticing the suspicious object.

Police Staff Sgt. Alvin Bremen, who was conducting a routine security inspection in the area, responded and performed an initial visual assessment before requesting the immediate deployment of the Pasay City Police Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Team.

The EOD team recovered a 9-volt battery, a blasting cap, a clock, and a plastic container holding a brown powdery substance suspected to be explosive material.

Authorities established a security perimeter and carried out a Render Safe Procedure using the Hand Entry Technique, successfully examining and neutralizing the suspected IED without incident.

Pasay City Police chief Col. Joselito De Sesto said investigators from the Investigation and Detective Management Section documented the scene and coordinated with the EOD team.

The investigation yielded a positive result for the presence of explosive components and materials, police said, as authorities continue to determine the origin of the device and identify those responsible.