Former OTS chief lambasts cultural decay at airports

The former Office for Transportation Security chief lambasted the cultural decay in the airport security teams that allows negligent screeners to continue working there, this before he could begin an internal purge.

Ma. O Ranada Aplasca, who resigned from his post over the airport screener caught on closed-circuit television swallowing $300 bills taken from an outbound Chinese national, said the problem with airport security is "more than systemic, it is cultural."

"There was the problem with 'tanim-bala.' Maybe the problems were not highlighted in the past because no one was caught. Based on our records, for the past several years, no one was dismissed in the OTS for violations of our disciplinary policies," he said.

Aplasca said when he was the director of the PNP Aviation Security Group, his initial task was to clear the country's airports of the "tanim-bala" scheme, in which airport inspectors hid bullets in travelers' luggage to extort money.

"That tanim-bala was the first marching order to me by former President Duterte, and that's where I felt his 100-percent support; that's why, in less than one month, we were able to solve the problem," he said.

Aplasca said that before his resignation Tuesday, the OTS had initiated 68 cases against erring personnel, with at least 11 people dismissed.

Found guilty

Meanwhile, DoTr Secretary Jaime Bautista said the female Security Screening Officer and three other OTS screeners involved in the cash swallowing incident last 8 September were "found guilty of stealing."

Bautista said the guilty verdict was included in the investigation report handed to him by the OTS group of investigators, which included the CCTV footage that showed the lady scanner stuffing the money into her mouth at Terminal 1's final security checkpoint at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The four SSO screeners face administrative and criminal cases.

"The investigation showed that she was guilty and swallowed the money. However, what she said in an affidavit was that it was chocolates. But the investigators saw that she was guilty," Bautista said in Filipino in an interview with the media after a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

The CCTV footage showed that at around 8:20 p.m. on 8 September, a Chinese passenger, identified only as Mr. Cai, placed his shoulder bag on the inspection tray at the final security checkpoint.

After trying to promote the gateway to potential foreign investors who may want to operate the NAIA, Bautista expressed frustration and dismay at the incident.

He authorized the imposition of the maximum penalty on those found guilty to demonstrate the Department of Transportation's determined push to rid the NAIA and attached agencies of scalawags.

Aplasca submitted his courtesy resignation last Tuesday, 26 September, to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. through DoTr Secretary Bautista after House Speaker Martin Romualdez told him to resign or the Speaker would personally block the budgets of the DoTr and OTS.

Not enough

Meanwhile, Senator Grace Poe said Wednesday the resignation of Aplasca would not be enough to stop the criminal activities at the country's airports.

"A resignation at the top does not clean up the ranks," said Poe, who chairs the Senate Committee on Public Services.

"More than ever, the Office of Transportation Security needs steady leadership to implement much-needed reforms," she said.

"There should be zero tolerance for criminal acts and unprofessional behavior," she added.

"While a witch hunt might put a syndicate on pause, the OTS urgently needs to review and tighten its security program," she said.

She continued: "Our airports should improve the physical layout of the security screening stations and provide proactive measures to prevent further incidents."

She also noted that the challenge now is to appoint someone with "immense political will to overhaul the agency and stop these incidents once and for all."

The senator stressed that the OTS must improve its hiring system and enforce ethics training.

"Employees must undergo extensive background checks," she said.

"In the long-term, we should also look into providing better compensation and benefits to these employees so they would not be enticed to do this nonsense," she added.