IN the wake of the shameful incident where a female screening personnel of the Office for Transportation Security (OTS) was caught on camera swallowing dollar bills taken from a departing Chinese passenger at the NAIA Terminal 1, OTS head Usec Ma O Aplasca said he thinks it will not be the last.
The surprising pronouncement was made by Aplasca himself during an interview he gave to SMNI, where he also stated that the evidence on hand was enough to institute the filing of administrative charges against the said SSO, whom he said was seen swallowing and pushing into her throat with her hand and later with the bottled water earlier given to her by a colleague assigned in the area.
“As of today, based on my observation, sa tingin ko, hindi pa ito ang huli dahil nandiyan pa ‘yung talagang core ng mga tao na ano, hindi pa rin tumatalima dun sa ating bagong direksyon tsaka sa internal cleansing program natin,” he said.
Aplasca did not categorically state that incidents of theft at the NAIA will be eradicated totally and instead said he expects what he called the new breed of OTS personnel to stop their erring colleagues.
“… I can confidently say na, the chances of them being caught ay masyadong mataas na ngayon because we have new personnel…mga bagong breed na di nila ito-tolerate,” he stated in the same interview.
Meanwhile, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) Officer-in-Charge Bryan Co expressed dismay over the said incident.
“Said airport frontliners whose actions completely negate MIAA’s efforts to improve the service levels in our airport have no place in NAIA,” Co said in a statement.
It was learned that the request for viewing of the CCTV footage on the matter shortly after the incident happened was granted immediately by the MIAA.
Before Co, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista also reacted with dismay over the incident, saying: “I am saddened and very disappointed for such embarrassing deeds.”
Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva and Senator Grace Poe have also condemned the incident where a Chinese passenger complained of having found his wallet opened and having lost $300 after the said OTS personnel inspected his bag. During the commotion that ensued, airport authorities came into the picture. The ‘swallowing incident’ took place before the subject OTS personnel was subjected to a rigid body search.
And while all these pronouncements have been made, Aplasca is like a doomsayer when he stated he thinks the ‘swallowing’ incident is not the last. It’s like saying, ‘wait, there’s more!”
What is even more disturbing about Aplasca’s statement is that he had in effect admitted the existence of a ‘core’ doing such disgusting things within the ranks of the OTS and that he knows its members will strike again.
Why not do something concrete to expose the composition of the so-called ‘core’ and bust them hard? Why wait for another victim? Why put the fate of the said ‘core’ in the hands of what he termed as the ‘new breed of OTS personnel who will not tolerate’ such shenanigans?
On Aplasca’s expression of confidence that the chances of the ‘core’ being caught are now high since the ‘new breed’ of OTS personnel won’t tolerate them, does it go to show that he expects the new OTS to snitch on the old ones or practically bust their own colleagues?
What if he is wrong? Given the tempting situation where one is to choose between earning extra income and gaining new friends as against earning enemies by snitching on colleagues, which path would one normally choose?
Since it was Aplasca himself who said the ‘swallowing’ incident is not the last, does it mean that all passengers departing from the Philippines continue to be at risk of being the next victim of theft at the OTS final check areas? That all of them should be praying that they won’t be the unlucky next theft victim? OMG!!! Really??.
Here’s another funny thing. The OTS screener who was caught on video in the ‘swallowing incident’ reportedly claims that what she swallowed was chocolate and not dollars. The OTS personnel are not allowed to eat or drink while on duty and particularly in the areas where they are assigned.
I am almost certain that at one point in our lives, we all have eaten chocolate. The video showed the OTS personnel get something from her waist and then repeatedly shoving it deep down her throat alternatively trying to down it with water. Is that really how you eat chocolate? You be the judge, dear readers.
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