By Arabella Balderama 

In the late afternoon of July 6, 2023, a vintage mortar bomb was found by authorities beside a stall inside the Pop-Up Katipunan.

According to the Quezon City Police District (QCPD), the 81-millimeter antique mortar shell was discovered by a maintenance crew and was confirmed to be inert. 

A former vendor owned the antique and left it among the items being inventoried in the stall, as stated in the post of the Pop-up on Facebook.

One of the guards said that the stall had been closed for a long time, and the owner just requested for it to be cleaned because there would be a new lessee to rent the place.

The incident was reported to the QCPD’s District Explosive Ordinance Disposal Canine Unit (DECU) at around 9:10 P.M. after the staff handed the explosive to the on-duty security guard.

Following their arrival, officers from the DECU-QCPD unit processed the scene and carried out Render Safe Procedures.

While the police officers were inspecting, the area was temporarily cordoned, and customers were asked to evacuate to the parking lot outside.

The public was allowed to re-enter minutes after the place was cleared, and the vintage mortar was kept under the custody of DECU-QCPD for safekeeping.

Thumbnail from CNN Philippines