THE Manila International Airport Authority on Saturday assured the public that it will not arrest, detain or prosecute passengers caught with live ammunition and amulet inside the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
But the agency warned that if the same passenger continues and keep bringing the prohibited items, he or she will have to face stricter action from authorities.
The MIAA made the statement following the complaint of a female passenger who posted her grievances on Facebook.
Kristine Bumanglang-Moran accused airport personnel of planting a bullet inside her bag at Naia Terminal 3 last Friday. She said the incident happened around 2:30 am while she was about to board her flight to Zamboanga.
“We assure the public that tanim bala (bullet planting) is a thing of the past. Passengers found to have bullets or bullet-like items in their bags are now allowed to take their flight after proper logging of the incident,” the airport authority said in a statement.
Prohibited items like bullets or ammunition whether as amulets or for any purpose are subject for confiscation.
MIAA stated that finding bullets or bullet like items in passenger’s luggage is not unusual at the airport.
“We have records to prove that to this day, a lot of travelers still carry these items in their bags; knowingly because some claim they serve as amulets, unknowingly because the bag was just borrowed from a friend or a relative,” it said.
The MIAA added “nonetheless, as a matter of procedure, we shall have the Office for Transportation Security check on the veracity of the claim.”
The airport authority will also assist the OTS by conducting a parallel probe to bring out the truth to the claim. “We shall coordinate with the passenger directly for the result of investigations.”
In 2016, more than 60 OTS personnel and 10 members of the Police-Aviation Security Group were relieved from their post in connection with the bullet-planting extortion scheme which victimize unsuspecting passengers at the airport.
Upon assumption of office, President Rodrigo Duterte prohibited authorities, particularly OTS and Avsegroup personnel, from arresting passengers for having bullets in their luggage.
Under the new policy, airport authorities will not arrest the passengers but they will confiscate the banned items as potential evidence. The passengers in possession will also be placed under profiling.
Last year, MIAA made a decision to remove the disposal booths or cubicles which served as passengers’ luggage checking station before entering security screening checkpoints at the airport.
The cubicle dubbed as the “Last Look Booth” was installed supposedly to help passengers dispose of items the airport authorities prohibits such as gun, bullets, knife and other deadly weapons and prevent delayed flights.
“The booths were removed because the passengers keep ignoring it, while more and more passengers are being caught for bringing in banned items,” said a MIAA public information officer.