A bag left on a bench in Bacolod City Public Plaza on Wednesday stirred panic and prompted a thorough inspection to check if the bag contained an explosive device.

A plaza worker said she saw two Tagalog-speaking men in black shirts take out what seemed to be clothes from the travel bag, put it inside a paper bag which they took, and then left the bag on the said area around 7:00 a.m.

The unidentified men were seen boarding a passenger jeep as they left the place.

Bomb expert Denny Montoya used a water disruptor to open the travel bag and found that inside the bag were just clothes. The bag had no identification cards or any item that could establish the identities of the two men.

Montoya said people still need to be reminded to immediately report to the police the presence of suspicious parcels or bags. They should also be educated on the do's and don't's when there is a bomb scare.

Tips on how to respond to Bomb Threats

A bank in the city also received a bomb threat through a phone call past 6:00 a.m. Wednesday, but after checking, Montoya said the call was a mere prank.