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Friday, March 29, 2024

‘Transport officials launch PR blitz to pass blame’

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ADMITTING that the Aquino administration has taken a beating because of bullet-planting incidents at the airport, an airport official said transportation officials are undertaking a public relations blitz to divert blame for controversy.

The official, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisal, said the operation aims to blame the opposition for causing national shame in the world community by blowing the matter out of proportion, as claimed by Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya.

“The almost daily discovery of bullets inside travelers’ luggage seems impossible,” said the official, one of the highest ranking at the airport.

“The [Office for Transportation Safety] is behind the scheme which is made to appear like part of an opposition demolition job,” he said.

“But it also makes it appear that Filipino travelers are defiant. They are trying to make Filipino travelers appear stupid,” the airport source added.

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Victims. Porters at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport are losing income as a result of the ‘tanim-bala’ scam victimizing travelers. Danny Pata

By making Filipinos appear hard-headed, he said, the focus can be diverted from airport officials and agencies.

The PR blitz goes against the initial findings of the National Bureau of Investigation that the extortion syndicate was the work of personnel from the Office of Transportation for Security, porters and airport personnel.

Manila International Airport Authority general manager Jose Angel Honrado has denied that a syndicate is operating inside the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

“So far we don’t have evidence indicating syndicates are working at the airport,” Honrado said.

A militant labor group slammed the Aquino administration for playing down the bullet-planting racket.

“With the almost daily discovery of bullets planted in the luggage of unsuspecting victims, [how can they say these are] isolated cases? Who are they fooling?” Migrante International said.

The group called for a full-blown investigation on the extortion racket that targeted overseas Filipino workers and foreign travelers.

Edwin Bustillos, sectoral representative of the workers group, said the extortion racket had been going on for years.

“No one has bothered to come forward to publicly spill the beans because it would be inconvenient on their part especially considering the prevailing justice system we have in this country, until now,” the migrant group said in a statement.

He said OFWs have been the “milking cows” of syndicates at Naia for decades.

The National Bureau of Investigation tasked to investigate the extortion scheme  on Thursday  urged all victims to come forward to expedite the probe and the possible filing of charges against those behind the syndicate.

NBI Anti-Organized Transnational Crime Division Head Agent Manuel Antonio Eduarte said now is the best opportunity for all the victims to come out in the open and help the task force in their investigation.

“If you are a victim, you can come to us at Room 509, 5th floor of the NBI main office or feel free to call us for any assistance at 523-3265,” he added.

The NBI team has been given 15 days to submit a report to Justice Secretary Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa.

Caguioa earlier said the NBI investigation will be independent of other probes by other agencies but would coordinate with them.

Eduarte said they have already coordinated with the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration to locate possible victims of the alleged scam who might be afraid to come out in the open.

“We have also coordinated with the Labor Department as well as OWWA and the POEA. They are also extending assistance to locate possible victims and they would forward the complaints to us,” he said.

The Liberal Party presidential candidate Manuel Roxas II dismissed Migrante’s criticism as “hysterical propaganda.”

Roxas’ spokesman, Akbayan party-list Rep. Barry Gutierrez, said Roxas’ position was clear. There is a need to put an immediate stop to acts that are hurting the country’s image and causing apprehension among travelers.

Gutierrez also reiterated that the government has already taken concrete steps to address the issue.

Roxas has drawn flak for flipflopping on the bullet scare—first blaming passengers for bringing contraband with them, then suggesting that the furor over bullet planting might be a “demolition job” to embarrass the government during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

On Thursday, he acknowledged the incidents of bullet planting had angered many.

“Much anger, fear and embarrassment has been caused by these… incidents,” Roxas said in a statement. “Our OFW heroes have been victimized along with the image of our country. The syndicates behind this must be held to account. We condemn the greedy and selfish men who victimize our countrymen.”

But on a campaign stop in Isabela, Roxas said travelers must take responsibility for their actions.

“If you bring contraband items into airports, how is that the government’s problem?” Roxas said.

“Bullets are contraband everywhere in the world, especially in the time of anti-terrorism, especially live ones. The damage to the industry should be placed in the proper context— who really brought these contraband items in, right?”

In saying that the syndicates behind the scam must be held to account, Roxas was also contradicting Abaya and Honrado, who said no syndicate exists.

OTS Administrator Roland Recomono  on Thursday  also denied that a syndicate was behind the so-called “tanim-bala” extortion racket.

Recomono said that although there is an opportunity for unscrupulous individuals to do something illegal inside Ninoy Aquino International Airport, that doesn’t mean that a syndicate is operating there.

Recomono said he welcomes an investigation into the matter. With Sandy Araneta

 

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