The Department of Justice will conduct a preliminary investigation of the elderly couple allegedly victimized in the latest incident of bullet-planting or “tanim-bala” at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The DoJ has asked Esteban Cortabista, 78, and his wife Salvacion, 75, both of Antipolo City, Rizal to appear before a hearing that will be conducted on the charge of illegal possession of ammunition filed against them.
Senior Deputy State Prosecutor Theodore Villanueva has set the hearing for next Tuesday, May 3.
The Cortabistas have been ordered to answer the complaint for violation of Republic Act No. 10591 (Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act) filed against them by airport authorities.
Public Attorneys’ Office chief Persida Rueda-Acosta, who is providing free legal assistance to the spouses, vowed to prove to the panel that the two are innocent and victims of a criminal extortion syndicate at the airport.
“We went to their house in Antipolo last Friday to get their statements. We will prove their innocence in the hearing,” Acosta said.
The couple was barred from boarding a Korean Airlines flight bound for Los Angeles via Seoul, South Korea last April 19 after Office for Transport Security personnel allegedly found a live .38-cal. bullet in one of their bags at the departure area of NAIA Terminal 1.
They denied owning the bullet and insisted it was planted in their carry-on bag by airport personnel.
The Cortabistas were detained after the incident but prosecutors did not immediately find probable cause to file the case in court or keep the two in detention.
Airport authorities are also reportedly looking into reports that a wheelchair attendant who helped the elderly couple demanded money to settle the case.
The couple’s niece Fei Balagot claimed that attendant Niño Namba asked for P50,000 from the Cortabistas.