DAVAO CITY - Operatives of Task Force Davao (TFD) arrested a man for allegedly attempting to pass two home-made bombs through a checkpoint in Toril district on Good Friday.

Private First Class Salman Guipacan of TFD identified the 22-year-old suspect as Roy "Steve" Bulat-ag Moreno, a resident of Kidapawan City.

The improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and other bomb paraphernalia were recovered from a black backpack that Moreno was carrying while trying to enter the city.

Moreno denied prior knowledge of the IEDs. He claimed that a certain Commander Bobby of the New People's Army (NPA) Front 54 ordered him to send it to a person in Toril district.

The suspect claimed that the supposed NPA leader's contact was set to send him a text message indicating a drop-off point for the bag.

Davao City Police Office (DCPO) spokesperson Chief Inspector Milgrace Driz, meanwhile, said intensified intelligence monitoring led to the arrest of Moreno.

"We doubled our effort on alertness and vigilance here and our proactive efforts which resulted to this apprehension," Driz said.

Police will file illegal possession of explosives and violations of the Omnibus Election Code against Moreno. -- With reports from Kenneth Mangaya-ay, ABS-CBN News