SORSOGON CITY —United Nationalist Alliance presidential candidate Vice President Jejomar Binay on Wednesday said the Department of Justice and the Palace were running out of excuses in blaming critics of the government for the planting of bullets in the luggage of innocent airline passengers.
Vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. also chided acting Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas for his curt dismissal of the latest bullet plant, or “tanim bala,” incident by saying it was a possible smear plot against the government.
“What else is new?” Binay said when sought for comment on the DoJ’s claim that the tanim-bala was a smear plot versus government.
Binay reminded the public that it was those in government that has control of the airports, international and local, not the opposition or the Palace critics.
“The government is running out of excuses and that is the Palace line usually being adopted if caught in the corner. Blaming others but itself,” Binay told reporters in an ambush interview, shortly after a campaign rally at the jampacked Sorsogon Provincial Gymnasium.
Marcos noted that while the DoJ has yet to complete its investigation of the alleged “tanim bala” incident, Caparas has practically prejudged the case with his statement.
“By conveniently dismissing this latest incident of ‘tanim bala’ as a smear campaign against the government, the Justice Secretary has, wittingly or unwittingly, bound the hands of the prosecutors who would investigate the case,” Marcos deplored.
He said Caparas should at least have waited for the facts of the case to be established before making any comment on the incident.
Binay said it was a pity that the latest tanim bala incident involved senior citizens.
Salvacion Cortabista and her husband, Esteban, 78, were barred from boarding their California-bound flight on April 19 after NAIA screeners found a live bullet inside the couple’s hand-held luggage.
Binay said the nagging issue of tanim-bala was reflective of the way the officials run the government – inefficiently.
The couple denied owning the bullet and Public Attorney’s Office Chief Persida Rueda Acosta said a witness will come out to support the couple’s claim.
“The reports on the details of the incident are enough to cast doubt on the allegations against the Cortabista couple,” Marcos emphasized.
Marcos noted a report that the wife is a former airport employee and so she is well aware of the stringent security procedures there. Curiously, nothing illegal was detected when the couple’s belongings went through an X-ray examination at the initial security check area.
“This incident not only brought humiliation to this couple but also prevented them from seeking medical treatment abroad. They deserve justice and the least the DoJ Secretary can do for them is to observe impartiality,” Marcos asserted.
Following a Senate investigation into the “tanim bala” incident, Marcos has called for the resignation of Manila International Airport General Manager Jose Angel Honrado for failing to stop the proliferation of the extortion racket in the airports.