P3.34 M seized from HK-bound passenger

A Hong Kong-bound Filipino passenger was apprehended by airport policemen and Bureau of Customs examiners at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal I Friday night after she was found to be carrying P3.34 million in cash.

Ricardo Belmonte, Bureau of Customs-NAIA district collector, congratulated his men and airport policemen for detecting the huge amount of undeclared local currency found in one of the bags of Jennifer Aspilan Dumanog, who was about to board Cebu Pacific Flight 5J142 bound for Hong Kong at around 7:30 p.m. last Friday.

Dumanog had just rushed through the immigration and Customs counter at the NAIA Terminal I departure area to catch her flight when her bags were made to undergo thorough screening by Customs officer Gil Manlapaz Jr., and final screening by baggage X-ray operator Ronnie Ricohermoso.

Ricohermoso and Manlapaz noted that there was a blurry portion in one of Dumanog’s bags, which prompted them to inspect the bag. They found a small round-shaped box tightly sealed with packaging tape, which contained a thick bundle of Philippine peso bills in P500 and P1,000 denominations.

Philippine banking regulations stipulate that an entering or departing passenger transiting through the country’s ports should declare local or foreign currency they have with them exceeding the amount of $10,000 or its equivalent in other currency.