Bomb defused in central Manila

Police defused a 45 pound ammonium nitrate bomb today in the crowded financial and shopping district of Manila after workers reported a suspicious package at a construction site.

Police said two controlled blasts were to disarm any trigger mechanism on the explosives, which were packed in a box slightly larger than a microwave oven. No injuries were reported.

The government has warned of possible bomb attacks over the holiday season and the detonation caused dozens of people to flee the area packed with holiday shoppers.

Police initially reported as many as three suspected bombs but later said only one explosive package was found.

Renato Puno, a construction worker who reported the bomb, said he found the package with two alarm clocks and wires on top of it shortly after dawn today and alerted security. Puno said other construction workers had seen the box yesterday evening but did not consider it a threat.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said the package was ‘‘part of a destabilisation plot’’ against her government, and ‘‘part of an ongoing operation’’ against her. She promised arrests in the next few days.

Arroyo has accused political opposition of plotting to oust her in the past but has also warned of attacks from the Abu Sayyaf, a radical Muslim rebel group holding two Americans and one Filipina hostage in the south.