MANILA: Senator Raffy Tulfo on Wednesday said he filed Senate Bill (SB) No. 2768 seeking to impose stiff penalties on crimes involving dissemination of false information on bomb threats, explosives, or any other life-threatening or destructive materials.

Tulfo, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Services, stressed that Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1727 or Bomb Joke Law passed in the year 1980 is no longer up to date.

“Sa ilalim ng PD 1727, ang mga taong nasampahan ng kasong may kinalaman sa bomb threat sa civilian courts ay nadi-dismiss lang dahil ang may jurisdiction dito ay ang military tribunal (Under PD 1727, those charged with cases involving bomb threats in civilian courts were dismissed because military tribunal has jurisdiction into it),” he said in a news release.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) recorded a total of six fake bomb threats in the train stations while 11 cases of bomb jokes in airports between 2023 and 2024.

SB 2768 prescribes maximum penalties of PHP5,000,000, or not
exceeding six years imprisonment, or both, if the violation of said Act is directed at high-density areas or sensitive areas.

Source: Philippines News Agency