AFTER demanding for the resignation of erstwhile Office for Transportation Security (OTS) chief Ma. O Aplasca with a threat that he would block the budget of the OTS if his call goes unheeded, House Speaker Martin Romualdez earned the admiration of many OTS personnel who have long been feeling so ashamed of the series of theft incidents involving their agency and colleagues assigned at the NAIA terminals, which are considered as the premier airport terminals in the country.
In fairness to the OTS, despite all the theft incidents happening one after another since February alone, there are still a good number of them who are not exactly into stealing from hapless passengers and these are the very ones who laud Romualdez for being the only one who did what no one else seemed to have dared to do, which is to demand for Aplasca’s resignation.
Whisperers within the OTS intimated that no one could stand up to Aplasca because it is common knowledge that he had direct connections to Malacanang, which is why the move made by Romualdez was too welcoming for them.
In an interview a day after he resigned, Aplasca said he was surprised that the focus of attention had turned to him when he was the one investigating the theft incidents of the OTS personnel. It’s as if the demand made by Romualdez was unjust or unwarranted.
As one of the in-house media covering the NAIA, I know exactly where Romualdez was coming from.
His demand for Aplasca’s resignation came not only because of the ‘dollar swallowing incident’ at the NAIA, where a departing Chinese passenger made a scene after finding his wallet already open and $300 missing.
This most recent incident was actually just the latest of a string of similar incidents of theft victimizing foreign passengers departing from the NAIA Terminals.
About six months ago, or on February 22 to be exact, five personnel of the OTS assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2 were suspended after two videos of them taking money from a transiting Thai tourist identified as Kitja Thabthim, went viral on social media. The videos were taken at the security screening checkpoint and uploaded on Facebook by Piyawat Gunlayaprasit, also a Thai passenger who was also departing at that time.
The first video showed an OTS personnel inserting something into the pocket of a colleague’s jacket. The second video showed Kitja asking the screening officer to return the 20,000 yen that was taken from him and the said OTS personnel handing back the money with a request for the video to be deleted.
On seeing the post, another Thai passenger, Saruta Jansila, reposted it and claimed to have had a similar experience on February 9. In Thai, Jansila wrote how thankful she was that Kitja was able to get evidence, regretting that she failed to at least take photos.
Passing through the same security check area, Jansila said she had found out that her 40,000 yen was missing. They demanded a review of the CCTVs while OTS personnel talked to them, asking questions about their origin or destination and how they liked the Philippines. A security personnel then asked her to recheck her wallet and found the missing money but in another location of the wallet already.
“Hey! Surprise, money moved to 4 front pockets,” Jansila wrote on her Facebook Page, “People Who Like to Roam Around Japan,” stating that they have checked their bags and wallets repeatedly before finding their cash again.
Days later, another screening officer was caught on video stealing a Chinese passenger’s watch at the NAIA.
Passenger Sun Yuhong complained that his watch was missing in his bag after he was screened by an OTS personnel who was later nabbed by members of the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group.
In the most recent incident which became so sensational because of the ‘swallowing incident’, the loss of US$300 was discovered when the departing Chinese passenger checked his bag after it underwent manual inspection.
Before the police and airport authorities arrived and subjected the said female personnel to a thorough search, she was caught on video swallowing something and even pushing it down with her fingers when water did not seem to work. The item was taken from his waist and while she claims it was chocolate, probers at the airport say it was the three dollar bills folded into one.
Thefts recurring at the NAIA victimizing departing foreigners and involving OTS personnel have been a constant source of shame and a bad image in the eyes of the international community.
What Romualdez did was save the future passengers from falling prey to the same modus— especially since Aplasca himself said the ‘swallowing incident’ is not the last based on his observation—and the country from further embarrassment.
Come to think of it, Aplasca should not have waited for someone like Romualdez to demand that he move aside and give the post to someone who can handle the position more effectively.
Obviously, the OTS personnel are either not afraid of Aplasca or do not take him seriously, considering that the theft incidents I mentioned took place one after another all under his stint at the OTS.
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