No laughing matter
The issue can no longer be ignored or belittled. The President has ordered DOTC Sec. Emilio Abaya to thoroughly investigate the ongoing wave of bullet-planting incidents that have victimized many passengers at the infamous NAIA. There are just too many incidents, it is actually ridiculous. If the Office for Transportation Security (OTS) is to be believed, people from all walks of life, young or old, locals or foreigners, for reasons unknown, have apparently decided to smuggle one or two bullets in or out of the country because the rewards are just too great to ignore. I would laugh if I were not incensed at the whole issue.
And this is no laughing matter indeed. There is nothing worse than being framed for a crime, especially by the very people who are supposed to fight it. According to a source who spoke to ABS-CBN, the bullet-planting scam has been going on at the NAIA for more than twenty years. A "bullet-planter" scans the airport for potential victims, usually those traveling alone and just "look right". These are most likely skilled pickpockets, of course employed by airport authorities. They even work in pairs to distract a passenger while the bullet or bullets are being planted in the baggage, particularly the hand-carried bags. The unsuspecting victim then proceeds to the final inspection before entering the pre-departure area. This is where the bullet is "discovered", and where the negotiations take place. According to the source, the usual "fee" is five hundred pesos. Many passengers would prefer to fork out the money instead of being terribly inconvenienced of even criminally charged. The OTS of course, doesn't give a damn if the victims rot in jail.
The presence of "bullet-planters" inside the airport only proves the connivance of the OTS personnel. Only legitimate passengers are allowed to enter the airport proper, supposedly. These bullet-planters therefore have the means to enter and leave the airport at will. In the end, it is the OTS personnel manning the x-ray machines before the pre-departure area who reap the rewards. The bullet-planters merely get a cut of the action.
What the DOTC must do is dissolve the OTS and get rid of all existing personnel. If the scam has been existing for decades, then it is safe to assume that everyone is in on it. And because of command responsibility, the head of the OTS must be sacked. Another agency is then tasked to man the security checkpoints. CCTV cameras can only do so much, especially if the actual bullet-planting happens in the crowded area before checking in. I can suggest that plainclothes trustworthy law enforcers must roam the area and pick out these planters, but that may be asking too much.
In the end, we all have to watch out for ourselves. Even now, passengers are already wary of the criminally-infested NAIA that they have begun to wrap their baggage in plastic, duct-taping all openings and zippers, doing everything to make planting anything next to impossible. I would suggest placing hand-carried bags in sacks or large garbage bags to totally enclose them. Pictures of such remedies have already hit the internet, adding to the already stellar reputation of the Philippine airport. Passengers should not allow anyone to handle their bags. I believe the reason why we have senior citizens who allegedly carry bullets, my goodness, is because the planters help them carry their bags.
As for those involved in this terrible scam, they should be made to answer dearly for their crimes. From the bullet-planters to the OTS personnel, they must be made punished to the full extent of the law. Perhaps even a lifestyle check is warranted on all OTS personnel. If this has been going on for decades, their lives surely have improved, while affecting or even destroying many others.
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