3 NAIA cops probed for escort job

Three Philippine National Police – Aviation Security Group (PNP-ASG) policemen are in hot water for allegedly escorting a Taiwanese national suspected of being a drug laboratory operator to the immigration counter of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) last Monday.

An immigration officer is also being investigated for allowing Hsu Hung Hui to pass despite being on the watchlist of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

Officials opted not to reveal the names of the four policemen for the time being so as not to subject them to prosecution by negative publicity.

PNP-ASG chief Senior Superintendent Atilano Morada, in an interview with The STAR, said he has ordered his intelligence officers to conduct a probe.

He said it would be unfair to prejudge the police officers being accused of accompanying the Taiwanese national without hearing their sides or at least waiting for the results of the probe.

"For now, these are just allegations. If positive, we are not going to tolerate them," Morada said noting that the focus should be on the immigration officer who allowed the suspect to pass.

Hsu, 48, was nabbed at the NAIA Terminal 1 Monday morning just as he was about to board a Chinese Airlines flight to Taiwan.

Immigration officers arrested him after he turned out to be on the list of persons believed to be involved in operating illegal drug laboratories in the country.

Morada stressed that even if policemen did escort the suspect, Hsu should have not been allowed to get past the immigration counter and be cleared for departure.

NAIA Immigration Department chief Ferdinand Sampol, agreed with Morada and vowed that the immigration officer responsible will be sanctioned.

"We will police our ranks. He should explain (why Hsu was cleared) despite being in the watchlist," he told The Star.

Sampol said the immigration officer will be asked to explain and will eventually face the appropriate penalty for the lapse committed.

Sources said one of the PNP-ASG policemen who escorted Hsu was previously relieved for escorting foreign nationals to the immigration counter in the past.

The allegations against the three policemen are based on video footage from closed-circuit cameras inside NAIA and the testimony of several witnesses.