Workers at the Office of the Vice President evacuate after its personnel received a message "containing a bomb threat," March 24, 2025 at the Robinsons Cybergate Plaza. Handout/OVP

MANILA -- The Office of the Vice President on Monday said that its workers had to be evacuated after a personnel received a text message "containing a bomb threat."

The Mandaluyong City Police "quickly dispatched an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Team to conduct a thorough search" of Vice President Sara Duterte's headquarters in the Robinsons Cybergate Plaza, the OVP said in a statement.

"OVP personnel were evacuated to a secured area of Robinsons Cybergate Plaza in Mandaluyong City immediately after a staff member reported receiving a text message containing a bomb threat," the statement read.

"Fortunately, no explosive devices were found, and the OVP resumed operations at 4:00 p.m.," it read.

The OVP urged the public to refrain from sending bomb threats even as a joke as  "bomb threats are a serious matter concerning public security and safety."

"The public is reminded that hoax bomb threats can endanger lives and are punishable by law under Presidential Decree No. 1727, also known as the Anti-Bomb Joke Law," the agency said.

Duterte earlier said that her office has been functioning despite her absence since last week.

READ: Sara Duterte says not neglecting VP duties while in the Netherlands

The Vice President has been out of the country since mid-March, after she traveled to the Netherlands to attend to her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, and his case before the International Criminal Court.

The second-in-command earlier said that she would return to the Philippines after her sister Veronica arrives in the Hague this week to take over her role as the former president's next of kin there.