Uproar over NAIA bullet mess widens
Congressional inquiry pressed; airport presidential complaint desk in place
Despite public outcry over “tanim-bala” (bullet-planting) cases at the country’s premiere airport, there seems to be no end to this mess that is already scaring tourists and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Yesterday, it was reported that two more passengers set to leave the country were arrested after the discovery of bullets in their luggage bags at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 (NAIA-2).
With the widening uproar over the bullet mess, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto called
on Malacañang to straighten out the mess by setting up a “Presidential Action and Complaint Desk” at the country’s premier gateway to serve as a “one-stop, on-the-spot troubleshooting center” for OFWs and other travellers.
But Presidential Communications Operations Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the government has already installed public assistance desks at airports to address any concerns of OFWs and other passengers. He assured that government employees are there to serve the public and address their needs.
Likewise, calls for a congressional inquiry in the Senate continue to gain support, with presidential aspirant Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago being the latest to join fellow lawmakers in calling for an investigation into the persistent reports of tanim-bala cases.
Santiago said these reports of unsuspecting travelers to the Philippines, including the country’s migrant workers, falling prey to the modus operandi “underline inaction on the part of government.”
“The reports highlight how corruption defeats the purpose of law enforcement. Second, they raise a legitimate question on the implementation of the law on the illegal possession of ammunition. Finally, they underline inaction on the part of government,” Santiago said.
New victims The latest victims of the bullet mess are Pancho M. Salgado, 65, of Taytay, Rizal; and Chris Valerie Panopio Mendoza, Sampaloc Manila. Salgado allegedly yielded an armalite bullet while entering NAIA-2, while a .45 caliber bullet was confiscated from the luggage bag of Mendoza.
Salgado was bound for Osaka, Japan, while Mendoza was supposed to leave for Dubai, United Arab Emirates, when they were held by airport authorities. Both are currently detained at the PNP Aviation Security Group detention center while awaiting bail.
Last Thursday, Revelina A. Combis, 68, of South Poblacion, Dipaculao, Aurora, was prevented from boarding Philippine Airlines flight PR 2041 bound for Caticlan, Boracay, after members of the Office for Transportation Security (OTS) found a .45 caliber bullet allegedly inside her hand carry bag at the NAIA-3.
Combis has been charged before the Pasay City Prosecutor’s Office with violation of Section 28 of R.A. 10591, the “Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act.”
A Japanese, who was earlier arrested after airport police found two .44 caliber bullets in his luggage bag, has been released after posting a 40,000 bail.
However, he needs to work out for the extension of his visa before the Bureau of Immigration as he needs to stay longer in the country to face his case filed before the Pasay City Regional Trial Court. His first hearing has been set for November 16.
With the problems facing tourists and OFWs, Recto said the presidential desk could serve as “a place where travellers can lodge complaints for bad service and recommend commendations for good ones.”
Wide-ranging coverage Recto said his earlier proposal for a Senate in-depth investigation into this mess does not only cover the “tanimbala” incidents but “other scams which inconvenience, swindle, or defraud passengers who use the nation’s principal gateway.”
A Senate investigation is needed because agencies operating in NAIA have failed to curb the abuses on their own, Recto said.
“Compounding the situation is the alphabet soup of government agencies operating inside NAIA, functioning as independent republics with no superagency conducting an oversight,” Recto explained.
Recto identified an existing Palace office – the Presidential Action Center (PACE) – which could establish “a detachment” at NAIA and other international airports.
In its Citizen’s Charter, PACE describes “the Office of the President (as in) the best position to serve as the command center” for requests for assistance and grievances by the general public.
PACE is the “key frontline team that can effectively bridge and ensure delivery of services to the general public,” the agency claims in a statement linked to the Office of the President website.
The low-key PACE holds office in one of the buildings near Malacañang, but Recto wants it to set up a satellite office in NAIA and “for it to anchor a one-stop public assistance kiosk manned by government agencies.”
“The idea is to pool together all agencies which have something to do with OFWs and travel,” Recto said.
“We can call it a mini-national government center at NAIA,” he said.
He said the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) should join the PACE-run airport kiosk.
“So that when an OFW, for example, cries that a bullet has been planted in his luggage, there is an office he can seek assistance from,” Recto said.
“Or parents can immediately ask for assistance and clearance from the DSWD airport office when they forget to get a DSWD clearance for travel of a minor,” he added.
“If you are victim of a fast taxi meter, you can go and file the complaint at the ‘Desk’,” he added.
Recto said the maintenance of a “Presidential Action, Assistance, and Complaints Desk” is an honored and unbroken Malacañang tradition.
“All Presidents have their complaints desk. Others designated ‘People’s Day.’ Some opened the gates of Malacañang,” Recto said.
“If airport travellers can no longer go to Malacañang, then Malacañang must go to them,” he said.
Senate probe
Responding to an online petition by some 12,000 netizens through Change. org, Santiago filed Senate Resolution No. 1635 urging the Senate to investigate the case amid reports that airport security personnel are involved in an extortion scam.
Ednalyn Purugganan, an OFW in Hong Kong who launched the online petition, expressed alarm at the possible plight of OFWs who would be returning to the country this holiday season.
“Lahat kami ang pinakaasam-asam ang makauwi sa Pilipinas kahit panandalian lang. Makakauwi pa ba kami nang walang takot na baka sa kulungan ang bagsak namin?” Purugganan said in her open letter.
Santiago condemned how the extortion scam targets OFWs who see airports as their connection to home.
“Wrongly accusing OFWs of a crime and forcing them to pay huge amounts of cash is not the way to repay those whom we call our modern-day heroes,” the senator said.
Santiago added the scandal would have a negative impact on the country’s tourism which is a major jobgenerating industry as it can sow fear among foreigners using Philippine airports and eroding public trust in law enforcers.
“We, in Congress, must also ensure that Republic Act No. 10591, the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Act, is properly implemented and not abused by enforcers of the law,” Santiago emphasized.
Apart from Santiago, Senators Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Cynthia Villar, and Ma. Lourdes “Nancy” Binay also backed proposals for a Senate probe into the matter which they believe would have a drastic effect on the OFWs and the country’s tourism.
Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano also challenged airport officials to resign if they fail to get to the bottom of the alleged extortion scam.
Where’s OWWA’s help?
Meanwhile, labor advocate and senatorial candidate Susan Ople assailed the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) for its “deafening silence” the tanim-bala incidents against OFWs.
Ople chided OWWA for not providing any legal aid to Gloria Ortinez, one of the victims who has already been a member of OWWA for 20 years.
“I question the lack of support being extended to her by OWWA. The head of OWWA must explain her lack of empathy for an innocent OFW handcuffed and charged for a crime she did not commit, right in our homeland,” Ople said.
As an OWWA member, Ortinez is entitled to free counseling and psychosocial services from OWWA, said Ople. (With reports from Genalyn D. Kabiling and Samuel P. Medenilla)