VICE presidential candidate Senator Francis Escudero wants the government to compensate victims of bullet-planting incidents at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport even as 11 more passengers were arrested for carrying ammunition at the airport
Chief Insp. Samuel Hojilla, spokesperson of the Aviation Security Group, said airport cops continue to apprehend passengers with bullets despite sign boards warning passengers and the installation of glast look booth h for passengers to check their baggage,.
Reports showed that three persons were arrested at the Naia Terminal 1 while one of the two passengers caught with bullets at Terminal 2 was released after presenting firearms license card.
Hojilla reported that four other passengers were placed under investigation at the Terminal 3 but ordered released later, while a foreigner was also arrested at the Terminal 4.
The Avsegroup noticed a significant decrease of apprehension of passengers carrying bullets compared last month with 81 the number of persons placed under its custody.
Meanwhile, Avsegroup director Pablo Francisco Balagtas welcomed the result of the probe made by National Bureau of Investigation in connection with the so-called tanim-bala scam where four of his men were charged with extortion.
“Our job is to maintain peace and order, but our primary, as aviation police, is the anti-hijacking,” Balagtas said.
A lifestyle check is also being conducted in accordance with the directive of President Benigno Aquino III to the National Police to take concrete steps in addressing the controversy over the “tanim-bala” modus happening at the airports.
But Escudero said the filing of the charges only confirms that this modus operandi exists at our international airports, and not simply a media hype as some camps had tried to portray it.
Due to this, Escudero urged the government to devise a system to compensate the passengers who were victimized by the bullet-planting scheme.
“The victims had to endure delays, miss their flights and shell out money for wrongdoings they did not commit. The government could at least give them financial aid as a way of compensation,” he said.
The independent vice-presidential bet said taking this step would also send the message that the government is serious in addressing the problem.
“It cannot be denied that the racket caused a sense of insecurity among local and foreign travellers. We have yet to find out its effects on the country’s tourism industry since it has no doubt caused a chilling effect among tourists here and abroad,” he said.
The Philippines had 4.27 million visitors in 2012 and 4.68 million in 2013. Visitor arrivals increased to 4.83 million in 2014, with the biggest number”•461,383 and 487,654″•arriving in January and December, respectively.