Bullet Planting in NAIA Continuous, 3 passengers Caught with Bullets

MANILA, Philippines - Former senator Francisco Tatad niece, was suppose to board her flight but she was put on hold along with an American and a 74-year-old grandmother when the X-ray screener found bullets in their belongings while undergoing security check at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

NAIA personnel said Rosanna Tatad, 31, was found with a bullet in her shoulder bag last December 13, 2015. Security screening officer Anna Margarita Repario said she saw an image of ammunition after Tatad’s bag passed through the X-ray scanner.

The bullet was found after Repario inspected the bag in the presence of Tatad and Senior Police Officer 1 Allan Sonio.

Tatad, of Congressional Model Subdivision, Camarin, Caloocan City, said that she did not own the bullet. She was subjected to inquest and charged with violation of Republic Act 10591.

American Joseph Ocasiones, 35, was also held when a 9mm caliber bullet was found in his trolley bag last Tuesday December 15, 2015. He was bound for San Francisco, USA with his 5 year old daughter.

NAIA police said X-ray screening officer Rica Verano saw the image of the bullet in the trolley bag of Ocasiones. She called Police Officer 3 Robinson Fernandez, the duty officer. Ocasiones was arrested and detained at the police jail at the airport.

He denied owning the bullet found in his bag. “Why would I carry ammunition when I know that it’s prohibited?” he said.

“I read and saw news from newspapers and on TV that many passengers were caught having bullets in their belongings. “I remember when I alighted from the car, I noticed a group of people that included porters blocked my path and the next thing I know, I was arrested for the bullet planted in my baggage.”

Los Angeles-bound grandmother Araceli Fortuna was allegedly found carrying two caliber .45 bullets in her luggage.

Pasay City prosecutors ordered the immediate release of Tatad, Ocasiones and Fortuna after investigation and they were able to continue with their journey.

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People Caught with Bullets in bags in NAIA increase by 775% in 2015

MANILA, Philippines — The number of people arrested for having bullets in bags at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) have increased more than 775% in 2015.
(NAIA Manila Airport Bullet Planting Scam Rise 775% in 2015)

Those apprehended with bullets in their luggage has increased up to a staggering 775% this year, from only 12 incidents in 2014 to 105 cases from January to November this year, data from the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group showed. But still the airport police aren’t convinced there’s an extortion racket behind it.

In a press briefing at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters on Monday, Supt. Jeanne Panisan, spokesman of the police unit at the airport, the Aviation Security Group (Avsegroup), said that for the whole of 2014, the Avsegroup made only 12 apprehensions for illegal possession of ammunition. From January to November 2015, however, the Avsegroup already made 30 apprehensions for the offense.

Asked for the reason behind the sudden leap in numbers, Panisan shared her “impression” that security screeners, from the Office for Transportation Security (OTS), have stepped up their duties since the implementation of the new Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act, approved in 2013.

Under the updated law, possession of a single live bullet could merit an P80,000 bail, P200,000 if the suspect was a foreigner, Panisan said.

Panisan dismissed allegations that an airport-based “syndicate” has been operating a “laglag bala” (planting of bullets) extortion racket. “Based on our investigation [before], it was never proven. No one was ever implicated,” Panisan said.

Panisan explained OTS personnel under the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) have been tasked to screen passengers’ baggage. “We [the PNP Avsegroup] have no part in the actual security screening….[The Avsegroup] are only called in if there is a [discovered] violation of procedures, such as the bringing in of bullets, guns, or explosives,” Panisan said.

Based on the testimony and evidence furnished by the OTS security screeners, the Avsegroup apprehends the suspect and files the complaint in the Pasay prosecutor’s office.

From the passengers’ entry into the airport and as they pass through security screenings, only the passengers themselves carry their own baggage, unless they hire porters, according to Panisan. Even after the security officers see something suspicious in the X-ray, and take a screenshot of it, they will still the Avsegroup first before having the bag opened by the passengers themselves.  “How can you plant a bullet then?” Panisan said, rhetorically, in Filipino.

Asked why passengers would keep bringing the contraband to the airport, Panisan surmised: “With all due respect to our countrymen, our belief in amulets go deep.”

Panisan, however, clarified that the Avsegroup would only file a criminal complaint against those in possession of a “complete” or live bullet. Empty shells — which are usually the ones turned into amulets — only get confiscated and “documented.”

Panisan advised: “When you travel, be sure you’re the ones who pack your bags. It’s common to borrow bags….but ensure that it is empty.” She suggested that passengers wrap or lock their bags “so there would be no reason to say a bullet had been planted.”

Meanwhile, Chief Supt. Wilben Mayor, PNP spokesperson, explained that under the Firearms law, “intention [for the ammunition possession] does not matter.”

“[The intention] is not taken into consideration. The mere possession of prohibited item is already a violation of the law. Of course we sympathize with countrymen who get caught, but the law is strict,” Mayor said.

“Of course, if there are those in our group who violated [laws], we will welcome an investigation. Our intention is the same. Our org has been affected. We appeal to public, let us not prejudge. Let us wait for investigation that will be conducted. We want the truth to come out so we will know who is the culprit,” Mayor said.

Mayor, in a phone interview, added that there were legal “remedies” also available to those who were victimized by the supposed extortion scam. “If you think you’re aggrieved, you can file a case against the person who did it,” the police spokesperson said. “Assuming you can identify the person, file a complaint for planting of evidence…or civil damages if you missed your flight.”

But Mayor also reminded: “You must be able to establish sufficient evidence” for such complaints.

This will scam will surely hit tourism in the Philippines it is now reported on major news like:
BBC
Dailymail 
CNN
HKFP