Erap bemoans family’s harassment at airport

Harassment or just airport SOP (standard operating procedure)?

Ousted President Joseph Estrada denounced yesterday airport security personnel for the alleged shabby treatment given his wife and a son prior to their boarding a chartered plane bound for Mindanao the other day.

In a radio interview, the former leader chastised the Aviation Security Group (ASG) of the Philippine National Police (PNP) for frisking former First Lady Dr. Luisa "Loi" Ejercito, his son San Juan Mayor Jinggoy Estrada and opposition Sen. Vicente Sotto III, and searching their luggage. Estrada complained that airport authorities even used bomb-sniffing dogs to search their plane for firearms.

ASG chief Superintendent Marcelo Ele defended his men’s action, saying they did not violate any procedures in examining the luggage and frisking the three.

At Malacañang, President Arroyo said her own family is subjected to security checks at the airport but does not make a big deal out of it.

"I just want you to know that my daughter Luli left for Spain two nights ago and she went through the process and had her bags opened. I don’t consider that harassment by anyone," the President said.

But Estrada demanded respect for members of his family, saying the manner in which they were searched by the ASG was reminiscent of martial law.

The disgraced president also asked why the body search was done only to his wife and son.

In a statement, Estrada branded the incident as a "brazen act" by the government to humiliate his family.

"This is obviously part of the system of harassment and intimidation being done against the Estrada family to prevent them from campaigning," said a statement by the opposition Puwersa ng Masa-Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino.

Another statement claimed that the Arroyo government planned to hijack the private plan and force it to land in Palau island in the Marianas territory.

The incident reportedly took place on Monday at the departure area of the Manila domestic airport as Mrs. Ejercito’s party was about to leave for a campaign sortie of the opposition senatorial candidates in General Santos City.

Mrs. Ejercito could not help but cry over her experience, saying she was never so humiliated in her life.

Jinggoy nearly came to a fist fight with the leader of the ASG team as he resented being frisked.

Sotto, chairman of the Senate committee on public services, said he would ask for a Senate inquiry on the matter.

Sotto claimed that it was not SOP at all at the airport to frisk all departing passengers, especially those taking private planes.

Ele noted that the former president’s family was apparently not familiar with the new procedures at the airport.

He said the searches were in accordance with policies of the international civil aeronautics organizations. – Nestor Etolle, Rey Arquiza