BOC to check ‘high-risk’ travelers at NAIA

MANILA, Philippines - Bureau of Customs (BOC) personnel based at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminals are conducting random checks of bags hand-carried by passengers from the so-called “high-risk” countries to look for illegal drugs and taxable items, an official said yesterday.

BOC examiners and intelligence officials are coordinating with their counterparts abroad to arrest passengers who bring in illegal drugs such as Ecstasy, cocaine and shabu among others, NAIA-Customs district collector Ed Macabeo said.

He did not mention which countries are high risk.

Passengers have been warned against bringing illegal drugs through the airports and Mail Exchange Center.

“We have X-ray machines, drug-sniffing dogs, examiners and police who are expert in profiling passengers and pieces of luggage with suspicious items,” Macabeo said.

Still, he said, the bureau needs additional X-ray machines and drug-sniffing dogs to prevent attempts to sneak illegal drugs into the country through the four airport terminals.

Customs officials welcomed the proposal of Sen. Richard Gordon for closer coordination between the Philippines and China in the fight against illegal drugs and the creation of a joint body to help catch and prosecute drug lords. 

Gordon made the proposal after the Department of Foreign Affairs summoned Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua last week to discuss the proliferation of illegal drugs in the country.

Gordon said Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald dela Rosa confirmed that the bulk of the illegal drugs entering the country come from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

“China recognizes the problem of illegal drugs as shown by its assiduous efforts – through its draconian security network – in arresting Filipinos and nationals of other countries who are arrested upon arrival as drug mules and now face the death penalty,” Gordon said.

“We should tell China that in their country, suspected Filipino drug mules are arrested, but they allow their own people to come here to sell drugs,” he added.

He said one effective way of fighting illegal drugs in the country is to stop them at the  source.

The drug problem in the Philippines has affected around 3.7 million Filipinos, who have become either drug users or traffickers, officials told the Senate during a hearing last week.

In a meeting last Monday, Zhao told Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay that the Chinese government would work with Philippine authorities on the matter.