Authorities: No “Tanim-Bala” at MCIA

CEBU, Philippines — The Mactan-Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) strongly denied any incidents of “tanim bala” or “laglag bala” at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA).

In his Facebook post, MCIAA General Manager Jayjay Neri said that there has been no incident of “laglag bala” at MCIA for as far back as he can remember, back until 2016.

He stated that if a bullet or bullets are found in someone’s bag, they were brought by the passenger either intentionally or accidentally.

“It was not planted there. Just stating facts, no matter what social media says,” Neri said.

MCIAA Assistant General Manager Atty. Glenn Napuli also denied that such an incident had occurred at the airport.

Napuli held a meeting yesterday with Leizel Mondejar, regional chief of the Office of the Transport Security-7 (OTS-7), Col. Rogelio Abran of the PNP-AVSEU-7, and other airport officials regarding the recent alleged “tanim bala” incident.

Mondejar reported that since January of this year, they have intercepted 20 instances of people bringing live bullets and other prohibited items of the same kind.

“No such thing as tanim bala. In fact, sigi na man ta og kadakop aning naay magdala og bala. Ika-20th time na ni since January of this year. Karon ra ni na issue because sa negative comments sa social media,” Mondejar told The Freeman.

Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Junard “Ahong” Chan also assured that there are no tanim bala cases in the airport.

“Gusto lang nako ipahibalo sa tanan nga walay tanim bala nga nahitabo sa usa ka babae nga pasahero nga mitumaw sa mga balita karon. Ato nang na-storya ang mga kadagkuan sa MCIAA ug ang PNP ug sa ilang imbestigasyon dili tanim bala ang nahitabo,” the mayor said in his Facebook post.

To recall, a 47-year-old woman was arrested at MCIA on March 27 after security personnel found four bullets in her hand-carry baggage during a routine screening.

The OTS flagged the ammunition during an X-ray scan, which prompted authorities to conduct a manual inspection.

The woman, who is reportedly a resident of Lapu-Lapu City and a Human Resources (HR) manager, was bound for Tacloban City.

Abran stated that the woman is now in the custody of airport police and that charges have already been filed against her for violating Republic Act 10591, the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition, as well as the Commission on Elections gun ban.

The mayor added that MCIA was recently awarded as the Best Airport due to its high-quality service for passengers.

“Maong di ta angay mabalaka sa tanim bala kay walay tanim bala sa atong syudad nga sukwahi sa gituhoan sa uban,” the mayor added. —/ATO (FREEMAN)