Planned from the start
The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) is back in the news. It has to do with a viral video that has spread on social media. K-Pop group Enhyphen came to the country to tour and meet their fans. After a short tour in Manila, the group headed back home. Upon arriving at the NAIA security check a female security personnel initiated a pat-down of the whole body of each of the young members. While performing the pat-down the female security officer looks back at the person taking the video and shows how thrilled she was at what she was doing. Then there was a hidden camera at the immigration counter where the group member's phone details could be seen as he presented it for scanning. Social media was quick to react.
“Unprofessional”, “Nakakahiya” were the general comments. There are other reactions, but I won't mention them here as they border on the obscene. But I agree in principle with the negative reactions to what transpired. Based on the initial statement of the Office of Transportation Security (OTS), they will investigate personnel “exhibiting unprofessional behavior toward members of K-pop group ENHYPEN, as caught through unwarranted filming.”
First, unauthorized filming at security checkpoints is not allowed. The video is a clear violation of this policy. Second, pat-downs or screenings must be done male-to-male and female-to-female. There is no lack of personnel at NAIA to warrant a female-to-male patdown. According to the OTS, not only will the person who took the video and the female security officer undergo an investigation but also supervisors who apparently allowed it to take place or did not file an incident report.
The NAIA staff showed unprofessionalism. The whole incident was obviously planned from assigning the female security officer to that checkpoint, the vantage point of the videographer, to the placement of the hidden camera at the immigration counter. There are those who say there was nothing wrong with what happened, but I disagree. Taking videos alone is already a violation. If it were a passenger who took the video, I'm sure he would have been pulled aside, threatened, or even arrested.
There seems no end to controversies hounding NAIA personnel. There was the infamous “tanimbala” racket and the pastillas scheme. There is word a new “pastillas” scheme is in play at NAIA, this time for outgoing Filipino workers. Can the OTS clean up problems and controversies in the NAIA, or will they wait for another hearing in the Senate before taking action? The NAIA has had its fair share of less-thanedifying opinions from travelers. An international airport always leaves a lasting image, good or bad, to both arriving and departing passengers. What happens at NAIA does not stay at NAIA. Can we try to keep it on the good side?