Filipino parents in Italy rush to collect children after bomb threat emails hit schools

Filipino parents in Italy rushed from their workplaces on 11 November to collect their children after a wave of emailed bomb threats reached thousands of schools, though Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said checks had found no concrete danger.

Filipino mothers and working parents in Italy rushed from their workplaces on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, to collect their children after a wave of bomb threats against schools, GMA News reported from Rome. Italian officials said a single email appeared to have been sent that day to the inboxes of 6,300 of the country's 7,476 state schools, while private schools were unaffected, according to the BBC.

One parent's account

Sherin Belando said she rushed to be with her youngest child, Angel, after receiving an alert about a bomb threat through the school's digital application, ClasseViva, according to GMA News. Shortly afterwards a teacher phoned to remind parents to collect their children as soon as possible.

As teachers hurried to evacuate the students, Angel was sent out of the school without a jacket and without her school bag. She later told her mother that the teacher had explained the situation was an emergency evacuation drill and that the students were to move quickly and follow directions. Belando's eldest daughter, Alyssa, who attends high school, also messaged to say her school was sending students home.

Other Filipino parents shared updates on social media. In a Facebook group post, Maricel M. Sison, who is based in Modena, asked how Filipino parents were coping, particularly those who were at work when the notifications arrived. Mealyn Baoit described seeing mothers rushing around in a state of worry and distress trying to ensure their children's safety.

What officials said

The message was said to be from a "Mikhail Andropov, leader of Vilayat di Misoginistan", the BBC reported. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said checks so far had not indicated any evidence of "concrete danger".

These reports appear rather linked to a strategy intended to cause alarm and concern

Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara said the incidents were probably a "cyber-attack, not a genuine risk", according to the BBC. Police and Carabinieri responded after numerous nearly simultaneous calls to the emergency number 112, GMA News reported, and in some schools checks had already been completed and the alarms lifted while inspections continued at others.

In Milan, many schools were initially evacuated, but the alarm was quickly lifted and pupils were allowed to return to class, the BBC reported. Some parents decided to take their children home for the day. More than 700 schools in Scotland and Northern Ireland also received bomb threats, according to local authorities there.

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