DOTr fires 3 security personnel over ‘tanim-bala’ incident

MANILA, Philippines — Three security personnel at Ninoy Aquino International Airport have been terminated by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) due to their alleged involvement in a "tanim-bala" or "bullet-planting" incident.

Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon instructed Office of Transportation Security Administrator Arthur Bisnar to dismiss the three personnel from NAIA.

“Appropriate investigations will be conducted and the proper administrative charges will be filed after the investigation has been conducted. But now we are terminating them already today,” Dizon said in a press conference on Monday, March 10. 

“We will not stand for any abuse. Any abuse will be dealt with the same result and the same swift action from us, as mandated and as ordered to us by the president himself. We will not allow this to happen,” he added. 

Bisnar said that a probe into the three personnel is ongoing.

The DOTr chief also said that he has instructed OTS officials to review the airport's screening and security procedures.

He also announced that the DOTr will establish a hotline for passengers to report their experiences at NAIA.

“Magpapalagay ako ng hotline sa airport. Anything na maling ginawa sa kababayan natin, ireport niyo agad sa hotline na ‘yan,” Dizon said. 

(I will order the setup of a hotline at the airport. Any wrongdoing done against our citizens, you may report to that hotline.

'Tanim-bala' incident

The dismissal of the three airport security employees followed an incident on March 6, in which a 69-year-old woman alleged that NAIA staff attempted to plant a bullet in her luggage before her family’s flight to Vietnam.

In her viral social media post, she described how security claimed an x-ray showed a bullet-shaped amulet, but a manual search revealed nothing.

According to Bisnar, the woman and her daughter had already passed through the OTS’ x-ray checkpoint and were in a hurry when officers detected something that looked like a bullet on the x-ray.

However, Bisnar acknowledged that the standard operating procedure was not followed, as the physical baggage check should have been conducted at the initial screening area.

“May pagkukulang rin talaga ang ating mga tao dahil hinabol pa nila sa boarding gate at hindi pa nila sigurado kung sino ‘yung pasahero at anong baggage ang involved,” he said. 

(Our personnel also have a shortcoming because they chased the passenger to the boarding gate without being certain about the identity of the passenger or the baggage involved.)