CEBU CITY (PNA) – An American diver working with the Special Operations Group of the United States military’s discovery of unexploded bombs after plunging down the Lagundi Reef off Talisay, Cebu has led to underwater bomb retrieval operations by Philippine National Police (PNP) bomb disposal experts and local divers over the weekend.

The combined team combed the depths of the Lagundi Reef seabed off Talisay City in search of World War II vintage bombs.

Talisay’s shoreline is the site of the historic American Landing on March 26, 1945 that led to the liberation of Cebu from the Japanese Imperial Army.

Lagundi Reef is known as Talisay’s underwater exotic garden, which is just a 10-minute boat ride from Poblacion shoreline.

At first, Talisay City Councilor Shirley Belleza said she was reluctant to have an underwater recovery operation of vintage explosives.

But the experts’ warning that these bombs still have the capacity to explode if improperly handled made her decide to pursue the retrieval.

Reports said only the bomb's casings deteriorate but their explosive substance remains intact, so they can still explode.

”If I do nothing, I could be blamed if something happens to the fishermen or divers in the area,” said Belleza, who is also the City Council Committee Chairperson on Tourism, Cultural and Historical Affairs.

Belleza had also been instrumental in passing local laws for the protection and preservation of Lagundi Reef.

She plans to display all the retrieved bombs, minus their explosives content, in the Talisay City Museum.

The underwater bomb retrieval started at around 7 a.m., ahead of a program in Barangay Poblacion’s shorelines in observance of the International Coastal Cleanup Day last Saturday.

This worldwide event is considered the biggest underwater cleanup of its kind held annually every third Saturday of September in this part of the world.