Malacañang understands what airport security officers feel about the bullet planting controversy, but stressed the need to totally remove public anxiety when going through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
On Friday, over 2,000 members of the NAIA’s security
forces, some of them in tears, wore pink armbands as they appealed for
understanding in the face of public outrage and ridicule over thelaglag-bala (bullet planting) scandal.
Personnel of the Office for Transportation Security
(OTS) denied allegations they were planting bullets in the luggage and bags of
passengers to extort money.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said
the OTS personnel’s morale had been adversely affected by the controversy as
they said and they should be understood because “they are also humans and they
also have feelings.”
But she said the passengers’ sentiments must also be
taken into consideration.
Valte stressed passengers should be confident and at
ease when passing through the country’s airports.
“What we are saying is that not even one or two should
have worries...That is why the reactions and actions of the agencies are rigid
to remove these anxieties,” she said.
The OTS personnel wore pink as a sign of protest even
as they said the color symbolizes love, sympathy and unity.
They also blamed the media for “overkill” in reporting
the issue.
With regard to the “zero remittance” threats from
groups of migrant workers in reaction to the scam, Valte said they were free to
express their sentiments on the issue.
She also said it would be up to Congress to review the
laws on possession of ammunition because an executive order would not be
enough.
“The law does not differentiate...if it is one live bullet,
it can just be confiscated or if two, there must be prosecution. We do not have
such discretion. Even if President Aquino issues an EO, it will not be enough
to invalidate the law, so there is really a need for amendment,” Valte said.
Malacañang has ordered the National Bureau of
Investigation (NBI) to look into the allegations of laglag-bala involving
security personnel and officials of NAIA.
The NBI was tasked to submit its findings to the
Department of Justice on the allegations of a syndicate being behind the
extortion scheme.
Sources at the NBI revealed they have collated a total
of 56 people since March charged before the Pasay City court for having bullets
in their luggage at the airport.
Most of those charged were overseas Filipino workers
(OFWs) who claimed the bullets found in their luggage was charms or amulets.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration
(POEA) said it will provide legal assistance to departing OFWs caught with
bullets in their luggage.
The POEA said it will immediately advise the
Department of Labor and Employment’s International Labor Affairs Bureau of any
OFW apprehension so it could coordinate with the Philippine Overseas Labor
Office in the worker’s host country or destination.
“(This is) for purposes of advising the foreign
principal or employer about the situation. The foreign principal or employer
shall be requested to give the OFW reasonable time to clear his or her name
with Philippine authorities,” the agency added.
Lawmakers, on the other hand, continued to press for
the resignation of Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio
Abaya and other airport officials led by NAIA general manager Jose Angel
Honrado.
Sen. Francis Escudero said the Department of
Transportation and Communications (DOTC) under Abaya has become a source of
embarrassment for the administration here and abroad and so it is time for its
chief to go.
“Rather than wait for him to resign, President Aquino
should fire him already because clearly what he has been doing is close to being
described as criminal,” Escudero said.
The
laglag-bala controversy has affected not only local travelers, but also
tourists traveling to the Philippines, who are all aware of the issue.
“This has reached a point where even the United
Nations has issued an advisory to their personnel going to the Philippines to
take care of their possessions. Isn’t this very embarrassing?” Escudero
remarked.
Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles, for his part, said
Honrado is incompetent in his job.
Nograles reiterated his call for Honrado to resign to
give way to “people who can better run the airport.”
Source: Philippine Star thru #YahooNew
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