PHILIPPINES: ‘Tanim-bala’ Sowing Fear Among Tourists,NBI Forms Task To Probe Bullet Scam At Airports

The chilling effect of the “tanim-bala” (bullet-planting) scandal at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminals has started to manifest among foreign tourists.

While the incidents of “tanim-bala” have yet to make a dent in the country’s tourist arrivals, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said that its chilling effect has already affected foreign visitors.

“We are now receiving queries (among foreign tourists) if it is true,” Tourism Undersecretary Maria Jasmin said yesterday at the Christmas countdown event at the DOT’s main office in Makati.

“It is important that we solve this… it is a problem that we don’t need,” she added.

With the scandal now gaining international attention, Justice Secretary Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa ordered yesterday the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to form a seven-man Special Task Force, consisting of operatives from the Anti-Organized and Transnational Crime Division (AOTCD), to conduct “a thorough, in-depth, and comprehensive investigation and case build-up” on the scam.

Caguioa ordered the formation of the task force on the day 34-year-old housewife Josie Marie Paz Trias surfaced at the NBI-National Capital Region office to file a complaint in connection with the tanim-bala scam.

Trias said seeing her 51-year-old mother and 75-year-old grandmother traumatized by their tanim-bala experience made her decide to file a complaint before the NBI. Trias’ complaint is said to be the first tanim-bala case that the bureau will be handling.

DUTERTE CALLS FOR DRASTIC RESPONSE

Angered by the tanim-bala cases, the latest victim being a 77-year-old Filipino-American bound for Los Angeles, California, USA, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte called on President Aquino to do something drastic about the growing controversy at the airport.

“I’d like to call the attention of the President. He must do something about it immediately. The President should order the relief of all officials and employees connected to the CAAP (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines), the aviation command, including those in the porter services and the drivers,” Duterte told the media after paying a visit at the graves of his departed parents at the Davao Catholic Cemetery last Monday.

‘LIP SERVICE NOT ENOUGH’

“Mr. President, I think they have crossed the red line. You must do something drastic about it. Lip service is not enough, Mr. President. Dapat yariin mo silang lahat because it has given us a bad name and has placed the Filipino people in jeopardy.”

Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero expressed concern the tanim-bala could erode the government’s “More Fun in the Philippines” campaign if security officials fail to put a stop to the modus operandi.

Escudero said the scheme could reverse the government’s gains in tourism and make a complete mockery of its popular tourism campaign.

“Three of our islands have just been recognized as among the 10 best in the world, but who would want to come here if they can’t even get out of the airports without being victimized by unscrupulous and seemingly unstoppable syndicates?” Escudero said.

He said the increasing incidents of tanim-bala in Manila threaten to overturn the momentum of the successful campaign.

SOWING SENSE OF INSECURITY

“The crooks behind this tanim-bala are not just planting bullets, they are sowing a sense of insecurity among travellers that will be difficult to address later on,” Escudero said.

“The government has to end this tanim-bala scheme now or we will lose our advantage as an emerging travel destination,” he added.

According to latest data from DOT, foreign tourist arrivals in the country still grew by 9.8 percent to 480,689 last August compared to 405,970 registered in the same period last year.

It, however, has not yet released the data for September and October, the period when the incidents of tanim-bala at NAIA started.

“Its impact (to tourism arrivals) is not immediate,” Jasmin said.

“It has effect in a sense that there is now fear. Psychologically, they are wary of the possible impact in their travel not only to the Philippines but also within the Philippines. They are here already, but they are still going to use the airports (to travel within the country),” she added.

DECRIMINALIZE BULLET POSSESSION

In an effort to eradicate the tanim-bala scam, Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo filed yesterday House Bill 6245, Iwas Tanim-Bala Bill, to decriminalize mere possession of not more than three bullets.

“Let’s stop this scam and ensure the safety and well-being of passengers in NAIA,” she said.

Robredo made the move after a number of passengers have been arrested in NAIA for possession of bullets in their luggage.

“This scam has affected a number of our countrymen and foreigners who were on their way to another country or to other places in the Philippines,” Robredo said.

LATEST INCIDENT

In the latest incident, Santiago Cabrera Penaflorida , 77, who was with his daughter, was checking in his baggage at the NAIA-2 for his flight to Los Angeles when a bullet was discovered in his backpack while passing through the airport X-ray unit.

Penaflorida and his daughter denied ownership of the bullet, saying their baggage went through x-ray at the Iloilo airport and were cleared of any contraband.

From Iloilo, the Penafloridas disembarked at NAIA-2 domestic arrival area and went directly to the international departure area for check-in.

Despite the protests of the Penafloridas, the elderly Fil-Am was held at the Philippine national Police Aviation Security Group for investigation.

Last September, an American missionary was detained for illegal possession of ammunition at NAIA after a bullet was found in his luggage. Last week a Japanese national was also arrested in the airport when two bullets were found from his bag.

Both foreign travelers denied they owned the ammunition confiscated by airport authorities from their belongings.

HOW TRIAS WAS VICTIMIZED

In the case of Trias, she said that a bullet, wrapped in a small transparent plastic, was found at the front zipper pocket of her gray-colored backpack.

Speaking to reporters, Trias recalled that on October 27, she along with her mother, her grandmother, and uncle, went to NAIA-3 for their 1:30 p.m. Cebu Pacific flight to Singapore.

They were accompanying their grandmother, who is suffering from leukemia and stage-four breast cancer, to undergo a fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) panel test as well as an appointment with a hematologist at the Singapore General Hospital.

At around 11 a.m., as their hand-carry luggage was passing through the second x-ray unit, someone told her that one of the bags of her uncle was heavy and they had to transfer some of its contents to another bag.

“It was at that time when I lost sight of my bag because our focus was in removing some of the contents from one bag and transferring them to another bag. There is also that possibility that someone might have placed the bullet there without my knowledge when I was in the airport because I checked my bag twice before the flight and that front pocket was empty,” Trias said.

It was at this moment when someone wearing light blue uniform at the X-ray machine asked who the black bag belonged to. At first, Trias did not realize that the airport personnel was referring to her bag which she thought was color gray.

She was then told to open the bag. She opened the two big zippers with padlocked and removed the bag’s contents.

However, when the female airport personnel checked on the small zipper, without a padlock, the officer pulled out the bullet. Trias’ uncle said it might have been a .38 caliber bullet.

“I expected that I would be left behind or I would be brought to jail. My mother was already turning red and her blood pressure might have risen while my ailing grandmother was already in panic,” she said.

Trias was then told that a higher-ranking official would talk to her. Before that officer arrived, Trias already made inquiries if she could talk to a lawyer and the NBI. She believed that the authorities were alerted when she mentioned the NBI.

An older and senior airport personnel then approached her and immediately said, “Let us just fix this.”

But before the senior official could say anything else, Trias cut her off and said she is willing to go to jail because she knows she is innocent.

Trias added why would she place a bullet in her bag when their purpose of traveling was to go to the hospital for her grandmother.

The officer then offered to let her go, saying they will just try to make it appear that the bullet was an “anting-anting” or amulet. Then, she was made to sign their logbook with a prepared handwritten report on the incident.

After this, she was allowed to leave the country and experienced no other hitches.

Trias returned to the country in the evening of Oct. 31.

An NBI official said they would take Trias’ statement and coordinate with the airport police and try to get a copy of any close circuit television (CCTV) video to identify the suspects.

HOUSE PROBE PUSHED

With no solution in sight, the House of Representatives has been asked to conduct a congressional investigation into the tanim-bala extortion scheme at the NAIA, while a Catholic bishop has called for a lifestyle check on on airport security personnel.

Senior Deputy Minority Leader Neri Colmenares filed House Resolution 2477 directing the House Committee on Transportation to lead the investigation of the airport controversy that has continued to hound the Aquino administration.

Colmenares said the House inquiry in aid of legislation will also cover other extortion activities of corrupt airport personnel, stressing that these illegal acts has “brought suffering and damage to our air passengers, including OFWs.”

CHURCH REACTS

Balanga, Bataan Bishop Ruperto Santos said authorities should investigate those who are tasked with inspecting baggage, especially those who apprehended the alleged “bullet carriers.”

“They should look into their work records and lifestyle,” said Bishop Santos in a press statement.

The prelate said the tanim-bala scam has been taking advantage of the law that prohibits and penalizes possession of restricted items such as bullets.

While the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act, may have the welfare and security of the country at heart, he said it has been “exploited” by some airport security personnel who want to extort money from passengers.

“Perhaps it is time for our lawmakers to revisit this law to make it clearer and more effective in warding off the real security threats to our country and not be used by criminal-minded people to prey on the innocent,” Santos said.

CHARGES FILED

As this developed, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, the Volunteer Against Crime and Corruption, and the Network of Independent Travel Agents yesterday filed administrative charges against Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Jose Angel Hondrado, Office for Transportation Security Administrator Roland Recomono, and Director Pablo Francisco Balagtas of the Philippine National Police before the Office of the Ombudsman over their alleged inability to stop the tanim-bala racket.

The complainants asked Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales to place all the accused under the preventive suspension, and if probable cause is established “dismissed and removed from office.”

Specifically, they were charged with alleged violation of Executive Order No. 226, the Institutionalization of the Doctrine of Command Responsibility in All Government Offices.

“It is their right to file a case against anybody,” Hondrado said in reaction to the administrative charges filed against him and other officials.

MAR: DON’T USE AMULETS

Meanwhile, former Secretary Mar Roxas reminded overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) that using or carrying bullet as “anting-anting” (amulet) is prohibited and this must be a lesson, especially those travelling from other countries.

This was Roxas’ statement when asked to comment on the controversial tanim-bala cases that victimizes tourists and migrant workers.

For her part, Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz urged OFWs to always monitor their luggage to avoid becoming a victim of the airport scam.

“Don’t leave your luggage. Don’t keep them away from your view. Better still, inventory the contents of your luggage before you leave for the airport and keep this inventory with you. Show them to the authorities if necessary before they check or screen your luggage,” Baldoz said.

Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Administrator Rebecca Calzado said it is prepared to extend possible aid to victims and those who will become victims of the scam.