MIAA says Feb. 13 chartered flight under probe; senators eye smuggling syndicate
THE Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) on Thursday gave assurances that “investigation is in progress” on the departure of a group of foreigners on a chartered flight last February 13, which allegedly circumvented established protocols, drawing concern from senators.
In a statement, the MIAA said the investigation was initiated “following a request” from the Philippine National Police’s (PNP) “AVSEU NCR chief Pcol Rhoderick Campo, who alleged that there were violations in the handling of the flight, which was bound for Dubai using an aircraft with Registry number and Callsign N9527E owned/operated by Cloud Nine No. 1 Leasing Company Limited.”
The Senate Public Services committee has yet to wrap up its inquiry into the New Year’s Day technical glitch that disrupted nearly 300 flights, but the premier airport was again plunged into controversy over the incident.
The committee chair, Sen. Grace Poe, delivered a privilege speech late Wednesday, seeking an investigation into alleged irregularities among certain agencies to allow certain allegedly unmanifested foreigners to exit the country on a private plane.
According to Poe, police and airport authorities failed to stop the departure of a February 13 Dubaibound flight that carried 10 alien passengers. Only seven, however, were declared before immigration officials, she said. The immigration chief disputed this account.
A similar incident took place in December, when undeclared Chinese nationals were able to skirt preflight inspections, she added. “More than just a protocol glitch, the issue digs deeper as it involves national security and human trafficking,” Poe stressed, as several senators backed her call for a full inquiry, with Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, a former PNP chief, offering to lead the probe.
BI: No unmanifested passengers
THE Bureau of Immigration (BI), however, in a statement disputed the report that claims “the special flight carried passengers more than the number declared in the flight manifest.”
Commissioner Norman Tansingco said: “We have conducted an initial verification of the said incident with the BI Naia [Ninoy Aquino International Airport] Terminal 3 management,” but the initial report showed 10 people—seven passengers and three crew—were manifested, and the requisite planeside inspections showed “there were 10 individuals on board the said aircraft,” said Tansingco in a statement.
For its part, MIAA confirmed that “the assistance provided by the Airport Police Department [APD] to a number of vehicles going to the Balagbag ramp last February 13, 2023, was authorized following an official written request from Globan Aviation Corporation in relation to a chartered flight that they handled on the night of the same day.”
The APD assistance, it added, “was conducted in accordance with standard operating procedures requiring APD patrol cars to escort vehicles without blinkers and with no MIAA issued permit to the Aircraft Movement Area [AMA]. AMA Permits are issued annually by the MIA Authority to its official vehicles and that of the airlines and other airport agencies with operations in this restricted part of the Naia.”
Initial information showed glob an Aviation got “the necessary approvals from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines for entry-exit clearance; the PNP Avseu for the Aircraft Exit Clearance, the MIAA for ramp entry of vehicles that transported the passengers to the Balagbag ramp, all of whom were processed and cleared by the Bureau of Immigration on site,” the MIAA pointed out.
“Notwithstanding these pieces of information, the MIAA shall continue with the probe leaving no stone unturned to dispel insinuations that persons are being brought out of the country surreptitiously without going through mandated pre-departure formalities,” it added.
Tansingco, meanwhile, explained that chartered flights fall under the category of special flights, wherein passengers are not processed in the immigration area, but are rather inspected near the aircraft.
“Seven passengers and 3 crew were listed in the manifest, and all underwent derogatory checks and were compliant [with] immigration formalities.”
An immigration officer was likewise assigned to attend to and process the passengers in the aircraft, said Tansingco, noting that the BI “is only one of numerous agencies that inspect departing and arriving special flights.”
Despite his assurance of no irregularity, the mood in the Senate is to inquire into the February 13 chartered flight.
Sen. Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada expressed confidence in dela Rosa’s ability to lead the probe. “I think heads will roll. I know Sen. Bato very well. He is very capable of investigating this particular problem and we have a saying: let the axe fall where it may,” Estrada said at Wednesday’s plenary session.
For Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito, the Senate “really has to do its oversight function to make sure that agencies perform at par.”
In the House of Representatives, meanwhile, a lawmaker had a more ominous angle. Surigao del Norte Rep. Ace barbers called on the civil aviation Authority of the Philippines, MIAA and BI to thoroughly investigate.
Barbers stressed that other than human trafficking, drug trafficking is likewise possible using the same modus operandi.