There have been incidents of airport passengers carrying bullets in their luggage over the past few days, the Department of Transportation said amid allegations of “tanim-bala” or the malicious placing of bullets in passengers’ bags to unduly detain them for extortion.
According to a report on “24 Oras,” one such incident was at the Clark International Airport on March 27, when a bullet was discovered inside a sealed can of bagoong.
The owner of the luggage reportedly admitted that the item was merely entrusted by an acquaintance.
At Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3, an X-ray scan on March 24 detected four bullets in a passenger’s bag. The passenger said the bullets were left from practice shooting days before.
On March 20, security personnel at the NAIA 3 also detected a single bullet wedged inside a suitcase during an X-ray scan.
“Hindi po namin sinasabing walang nangyaring tanim-bala. Pero kapag nakita po namin na ang mga kababayan natin ang nagkulang, nagkamali, kailangan din natin i-call out natin yan,” said Dizon.
(We are not saying that bullet-planting incidents never happened. But if we find that our fellow Filipinos are at fault or made mistakes, we must also call that out.)
The DOTr reiterated its commitment to ensuring fair and transparent security procedures while urging passengers to be mindful of the items they bring to airports. –Sherylin Untalan/NB, GMA Integrated News
