When it rains, it really pours.
After the kidnapping of four people including three foreigners in a resort in Samal Island which was described by the authorities as an isolated case, then came the kidnapping of a former Italian priest in the Zamboanga peninsula. After a flurry of reports, the media has stopped following the story—strange, to say the least. Perhaps, the press was prevailed upon by the government to hold on to the story because of the forthcoming Apec. This, or so as not to complicate an on-going ransom negotiation. Then came the news that a South Korean national kidnapped several months ago had been found dead in Sulu.
As if these were not enough, we are again engulfed in another scandal at our biggest international airport, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The planting of bullets in the bags of unsuspecting travelers by personnel connected to the airport to make a few extra pesos has been going on for a long time. This has been the racket of low-level employees in the airport as opposed to higher airport officials who have their own money-making ventures.
We would read occasional cases in the media of travelers complaining about this scam but the media never made an issue out of these cases. This time, however, the media picked it up and the issue has not only become a national embarrassment for us but has now been internationalized. After ignoring the significance and impact of the incidents on our country’s reputation and given that these things are happening before the Apec summit which will be held in the country in two weeks, the government has started to swing into action. As usual, the President was shown presiding over a meeting to tackle the issue. And as usual, nothing came out of the meeting.
Truth to tell, this problem could have been handled easily by the Naia management. The airport manager is a powerful figure in government. Not only is he related to the President but they are bosom buddies. Bodett Honrado was also in charge of the security detail and intelligence operations during Aquino’s presidential campaign in 2010. Had he taken action of this problem earlier, it would not have exploded to the issue that it is today. He certainly bears command responsibility more than any government official. But those people demanding that he be fired from his job will, however, have to wait till the crow turns white before he is removed. It is not going to happen.
The airport general manager must be made to take charge in the handling of the issue for the simple reason that this problem is his primary responsibility. Attached agencies operating in the airport must follow policies and regulations of the airport and Honrado is the airport boss. If he cannot or is unable to do so, then he should be fired or he should resign. It is as simple as that.
President Aquino, however, has the reputation of refusing to fire subordinates who are close to him. But because the case has already generated many negative effects on the country, there has to be a fall guy. We can be sure that both Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya and Honrado will not get the ax. Then who will be the fall guy? I suspect that it will either be the Office of Transport Security administrator or the director of Aviation Security of the PNP.
There is also really no need for another Senate hearing because we should not politicize an issue that involves our country’s reputation. Sadly, however, it has already been politicized. The obvious solution to the problem is to amend certain provisions of the law that criminalizes the mere possession of a single bullet. But this will take time. The intention of the law is to prohibit the possession of quantities of ammunition that can be used for criminal and terroristic activities.
In most international airports, prohibited items like bladed weapons can be allowed as long as they are in checked in luggages. Obviously in our case, we are interpreting the law quite literally. The public defender’s office has volunteered lawyers for those caught with a bullet in their hand bags but this will not prevent aviation security from detaining individuals with one bullet and charging them.
The better thing to do is for the Department of Justice to detail a prosecutor to the airport so that a determination can be made right on the spot whether there is probable cause for a crime. This way, a traveler will not have to delay his or her flight if innocent. Those who have violated the law could then also be charged.
The damage to our country has already been done. In addition to Naia being one of the worst airports in the world, our airport has added this bullet scam to its notoriety. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words. How true. The TV footage of that overseas Filipino worker employed in Hong Kong with handcuffs crying in her seat says it all. No amount of justification by the government can erase that image in the minds of the people who saw it. And shame on Leah Navarro and her cohorts for even suggesting that this bullet scam issue was planned and executed by the political enemies of President Aquino to embarrass the country and make Mar Roxas lose the election.
Or, perhaps, those crying and unsuspecting victims of the scam shown on TV were all paid actors by the political enemies of this administration.