Three employees of the Office for Transportation Security were relieved from their posts at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport after they were caught in a viral video harassing a Filipino passenger, stopping her from boarding a flight to Vietnam.
The passenger, a 69-year-old woman, had already cleared the security screening and was already at her boarding gate when she was stopped by the OTS personnel who told her they found an amulet made of bullet casing in her carry-on bag.
The incident is reminiscent of the “laglag bala” or “tanim bala” extortion scheme in 2015-16, where NAIA screening personnel were accused of planting bullets or casings in the carryon luggage of passengers to demand payoffs.
In the latest incident, Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon explained that the OTS personnel were sacked while the investigation on possible “tanim bala” is ongoing because they also breached airport protocols by stopping the passenger at the boarding gate, after she had already been cleared to take her flight. The protocol is that passengers must be accosted or confronted about suspicious content in their luggage as they pass through security screening.
While it is worrying and stressful to see that there is an attempt to revive the “tanim bala” scam, which once upon a time terrorized Filipino air travelers into wrapping their luggage in plastic, just to add a layer of protection from the extortion scheme, it is a relief to see quick action being taken against this crude attempt.
Aside from quick action, sanctions, and penalties against erring personnel, airport management should also take pains to educate and remind airline passengers of their rights and of the proper security protocols that should also protect them from such scams, especially if their luggage is flagged as suspicious by airport scanners in the security areas. Knowing what security personnel can and cannot do is instrumental in avoiding being victimized by such schemes.
The “tanim bala” scam should have been fully eliminated years ago, but as this most recent incident suggests, it can be resurrected. A government that failed in its elimination then must now pull out all the stops to ensure that all the necessary reforms and safeguards are put in place so it never comes back.*
