The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee is set to inquire today on the alleged human trafficking involving foreign nationals who used chartered private planes from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to leave the country under anomalous circumstances.
The probe comes in the wake of an expose last February 15 by Sen. Grace Poe, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Public Services, about the alleged human smuggling activity at the country’s premier airport.
Poe noted that the Flight General Declaration indicated there were only three crew members and six passengers in the plane with registry no. N9527E left the NAIA for Dubai.
But based on information received by Poe from the Bureau of Immigration, seven passengers were in the general declaration, consisting of a Malaysian, Korean, Chinese, Vanuatu and three from Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Poe said they will look into the process in the departure of the foreigners aboard the chartered flight.
She said they want to determine if the passengers of the plane underwent the standard process.
She said they will verify if the documents of the passengers coming from Dubai where they landed were legitimate.
Poe raised the possibility that there was confusion when the Philippine National Police- Aviation Security Group (Avsegroup)) counted the number or passengers and crew, or well-wishers.
The Civil Aviation Administration of the Philippines, the Bureau of Customs, and the Manila International Airport Authority were unanimous in saying that all the passengers of the plane in question were cleared to leave the airport.
It was only Avsegroup which claimed there were some discrepancies in the documents. But Poe found out that the Immigration officer who purportedly signed the clearance was not the same man who escorted the passengers.