‘Suicide bomber’ a drill – MRT-3

MANILA, Philippines — A photo showing a man, with a bomb strapped to his back, at a Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) station went viral on social media yesterday.

The man, however, turned out to be a police officer taking part in a drill to check if the station’s security personnel are ready to deal with such a situation.

“Our passengers have nothing to worry because it is a ‘penetration test’ done by the Philippine National Police (PNP) last Jan. 21 at the MRT-3 Cubao station,” the rail line said in a statement.

The exercise was done to “test the alertness or capacity of our security in the area,” the rail line said.

Train stations had been targets of previous attacks, such as the Light Rail Transit Line 1’s Blumentritt station during the Rizal Day bombing in 2000 and the MRT-3’s Ayala station in the Valentine’s Day bombing in 2005.