The United Nations Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) released a memo to staff members warning them of the "tanim-bala" (bullet-planting scam) scheme that are allegedly carried out by Aiport Security to extort money from passengers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
They also advised their staff members to secure their bags by wrapping them in plastic.
"Staff members are advised to keep your luggage with you, lock your luggage, and consider wrapping your luggage in plastic as an extra security measure," the UNDSS said in a statement Tuesday.
The tanim-bala (bullet planting) scam, has already victimized hundred of ordinary travelers, overseas Filipino workers (OFW) as well as foreigners. The passenger if caught will then be forced to choose between facing an investigation or paying a bribe.
The advisory was first reported by Floyd Whaley, a senior correspondent of The New York Times, in his Twitter account.
“United Nations advises staff using Manila airport to ‘keep your luggage with you, lock your luggage, and consider wrapping your luggage,’” Whaley said in his tweet.
Whaley eventually posted a copy of the internal memo from the UN Department of Safety and Security (undss.radioroom@undp.org) with the subject “SECURITY ADVISORY: Naia-Bullets in luggage.”
United Nations advises staff using Manila airport to "keep your luggage with you, lock your luggage, and consider wrapping your luggage".
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
