Bullet scam victims cleared
No intention to violate law, Abaya tells Senate
Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph A. Abaya yesterday conceded that persons, mostly overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), arrested for alleged possession of bullets in what is now dubbed the “tanim-bala” (bullet-planting) scam at the airports “are not guilty and had no intent to violate the law.”
In an effort to address the tanim-bala incidents, Abaya called on the senators to carve out from the proposed 2016 Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) outlay a budget for the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) for the purchase of security equipment, particularly closed-circuit TV (CCTV).
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It was bared that airport personnel had demanded that White should fork out over P30,000 to settle his case, but he declined.
White’s family were on their way to Coron, Palawan, for their missionary work when he was allegedly victimized by airport screeners.
Another victim, Gloria Ortinez, 56, of Paoay, Ilocos Norte, had to spend two nights in a detention cell before she was released by the Pasay City Prosecutors Office after Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) chief Persida V. Rued-Acosta cited a Supreme Court decision that the charges must be dropped because there is no intent to possess and that the bullets are not intended to be used.
Four others accused of the same tanim-bala raps were released, she added.
Acosta stressed that the tanim-bala operation must be stopped but “the devil’s advocates” are there at the airport.
LACK OF COMPASSION
Sen. Grace Poe said what the national government lacks is compassion and common sense and that coordination and leadership must be shown by MIAA general manager Jose Angel Honrado, who was given a 70 percent passing grade by Abaya.
Poe also questioned why the National Civil Aviation Security Council, the single authority for transportation system in the country, has not yet been convened by Abaya despite the bullet scam.
Abaya vowed to convene the council to address the tanim-bala.
The passing grade drew an angry reaction from Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. and Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter S. Cayetano.
Honrado claimed during the hearing that he has no control over aviation personnel who man the x-ray machines at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
Susan “Toots” Ople, OFW advocate, bewailed the failure or neglect of airport officials to tap the services of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to help the tanim-bala victims as these agencies have desks at the airport.
Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph G. Recto said these alleged extortion activities damage NAIA’s reputation, giving an impression that the facility is gradually becoming a major extortion hub of the country.
“Extortion schemes and other forms of misconduct undermine the efforts made by the Philippine government in curbing corruption and in maximizing the Philippines’ potential for business and tourism.
ORTINEZ FLYING TO HK
As this developed, Ortinez will fly to Hong Kong tomorrow in attempts to regain her employment as a household service worker (HSW) following the dismissal of her illegal possession of ammunition case over the “tannin-bala.
Ople said she will be accompanying Ortinez to convince her employer to rehire the 56-year-old OFW.
“We are headed to HK this Saturday so that she (Ortinez) can personally talk to her employer,” Ople said.
Ortinez will also be accompanied by Labor Undersecretary Ciriaco Lagunzad III to help with her cause.
“The POLO (Philippine Overseas Labor Office) already sent a letter to Gloria’s employer, but this Saturday Usec Lagunzad will be accompanying Glo to HK to directly talk to her employer,” OWWA Administrator Rebecca Calzado said.
Abaya assured Ortinez that he would write a letter or call her Hongkong employer to take her back after the charges lodged against her had been dismissed.
“I will craft a letter. I will call her employer …whatever Nanay Gloria asks me to do. No reservation,” Abaya told senators during the hearing.
Ortinez was detained by authorities at the NAIA last month after a bullet was allegedly found in her luggage.
She, however, denied the ammo belonged to her, claiming she was a victim of the tanim-bala scam.
The ordeal prevented her from immediately returning to her employer making her worry she might be replaced.
MEDIA BAN HIT
With the public outcry over the tanim-bala issue, airport authorities ban mediamen fromm certain areas.
The move prompted Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero to assail airport authorities.
Escudero said NAIA officials should give members of duly registered media entities access to areas where they can exercise their duties without intervening in security personnel’s work.
The senator made the call following reports that journalists covering Manila’s international airports are now prohibited from going to certain areas of NAIA Terminal 3.
NAIA reporters complained that the restriction on their access came only in the wake of reports on the alleged extortion scheme that has victimized overseas Filipino workers, tourists and travellers on business.
“At a time like this when we are all trying to find the truth behind this deplorable ‘tanim-bala’ modus operandi, we need the media to be free to do its work of gathering information, examining our systems, and uncovering the wrongs that may be hidden from sight,” Escudero said.
Besides, NAIA personnel and officials of the MIAA should not feel threatened by the presence of prying eyes if they have nothing to hide, the senator stressed.
“Lagi naman nating sinasabi na ang walang tinatago, hindi natatakot masilip, (We’ve always believed that those who got nothing to hide are not afraid to be scrutinized),” Escudero said.
“We enjoy a democracy that upholds and protects the people’s right to know. Curtailing the media’s freedom to do the important work of exposing the truth cannot be justified, especially in this particular case,” Escudero said.
CHARGES MULLED
Meanwhile, DUMPER Partylist, formerly known as the DUMPER Philippine Taxi Driver Association, is planning to sue tanim-bala accuser Julius Niel Habana for wrongfully incriminating taxi driver Ricky Milagrosa.
Milagrosa was driving Vigil taxi with license plate UVK 190 on the eve of October 29, 2015, when he was accused by Habana of planting a bullet in his friend’s luggage.
Habana posted about the incident on his Facebook page, saying, “Muntik ng madali ang kasamahan kung seaman papuntang NAIA, buti napansin niya (na may) nilagay ang driver sa bag (niya) nag (text) sakin kung anong gawin niya,nag advise ako na wag ng tumuloy sa airport dumaan nalng sa boardng house ko. (My friend and fellow seaman almost got into trouble on the way to NAIA. Good thing he noticed that the driver placed something on his bag, he texted me asking for help, and I advised him not to go to the airport and instead come to my boarding house).”
However, when the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) conducted a hearing regarding this matter, only Milagrosa and his operator attended to state their case. Habana, on the other hand, refused to answer any of the board’s attempts to contact him. (With reports from Hannah L. Torregoza, Czarina Nicole O. Ong, and Samuel P. Medenilla)
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