Ignorant, uniformed or just hard-headed passengers?
Airport and aviation police authorities keep asking this question when apprehending air travelers having in possession of firearms, bullets and other banned items at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
On Saturday, the authorities intercepted a 52-year-old man bound for Caticlan after he was caught carrying a .45 caliber Llama Minimax Sub compact firearm and 16 rounds of live bullets and two magazines at the departure area of NAIA Terminal 3.
Silvestre Mendoza Roque is now under the custody of the Police-Aviation Security Group and will be charged criminally before the Pasay City prosecutors office because of an expired license and carrying a firearm without necessary permits.
Roque, a resident of San Roque, Marikina City, claimed he forgot to remove the items from his bag.
In Terminal 1, personnel of the Office of Transportation Security manning the initial security check also caught Jean Lolita Abad Manipud Robles, 45, for bringing in 33 pieces of live ammunition hidden inside a green bottle and a match box.
Robles was about to board her flight for California, USA via Taipei, when OTS personnel noticed the banned items through x-ray images. She claimed she accidentally brought the said items and placed it in her balikbayan box.
Unlike Roque, Robles was allowed to proceed with her flight after documentation and confiscation of the items.
Five other cases of passengers who brought bullets and other prohibited items were recorded by the Manila International Airport Authority on the same day at Terminal 3.
"We can't explain why. Despite all the [apprehension] incidents, warnings and news reports, more passengers are still bringing those item. We encourage everyone to be aware of this prohibition," said MIAA public information officer Connie Bungag.
MIAA general manager Eddie Villanueva Monreal earlier urged the people not to bring live ammunition, amulet and other prohibited items when traveling to avoid flight delays.
Last week, five passengers, one of them a Chinese national, were also apprehended for bringing in banned items.
Those apprehended mostly “used” the live ammunition and empty bullets as souvenirs, necklaces, talismans or amulets. But the authorities reminded the public that those are banned items.
The directive of President Rodrigo Duterte to stop arresting passengers with bullets came following complaints over the alleged "tanim-bala" (bullet-planting) extortion scheme perpetrated by some erring airport personnel in the past.
