Man breaches NAIA security

MANILA, Philippines - A mentally ill man was able to penetrate the security fence of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 and get near a parked aircraft Monday night in the absence of closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras.

Capt. Tim Cruz, Airport Police Operations Division chief, said 41-year-old Marcelo Maligalig of Taguig tried to climb into a Kuwait Airlines plane through the front landing gear.

Security guards were able to collar Maligalig.

He was turned over to his sister, Police 0fficer 2 Christine Maligalig of the Southern Police, after she presented certificates from the National Center for Mental Health that he is mentally ill, Cruz said.

At around 9:45 p.m. Monday, an airline security guard radioed that an unidentified man was able to approach the Kuwait Airlines plane at Bay 4 without a proper identification card.

The man was found carrying other identification cards including a security guard license, barangay and postal ID, Cruz said.

Terminal 1 has no CCTV camera around the security fence, airport sources said.

Senate to summon aviation security officials

Officials of the Aviation Security Group and other law enforcement agencies will be summoned to the Senate over the general peace and order situation in the country.

Sen. Grace Poe, Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs chairperson, said she will hold public hearings once Congress resumes session on Jan. 20.

“We will conduct a public hearing on the general peace and order situation, on goals and assessment,” she said.

Poe said the committee will ask the law enforcement officials for updates on the peace and order situation, as well as on major incidents in the country such as the drug cartel situation following a major drug bust by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

“We will (also) ask for updates on the Cagayan de Oro blast... the apparent deputization of security guards etc.,” she said.

They will also seek an explanation on the security concerns surrounding the fatal shooting of Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur Mayor Ukol Talumpa, his wife and two others at the NAIA Terminal 3 last Dec. 20, she added.

The Senate can invite the NAIA management to the hearing because the shooting incident falls under the general peace and order situation, Poe said.

Senate Deputy Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III believes the executive department could best deal with the security issues.

“There are no other measures you can take because it happened near the street and actually beyond airport security. You cannot frisk everyone outside the terminal,” he said.

Sotto wants a review of the security measures being implemented in airports nationwide.

“What they should review is why they have placed the retrieval area of firearms too far away from the exit,” he said.

“This is not the first time this has happened. In a number of provinces, assassination attempts were always made when the target or his bodyguards are yet unarmed. These killers are usually afraid to hit an armed target.

“How to improve the security at airports and review the roles of the Aviation Security Group and the private guards are all executive in nature.”

Sotto raised concern on why NAIA 3 had no working surveillance cameras to help police investigators in the probe.

“The drug angle is a matter for the PDEA and the Department of Justice (to investigate further),” he said Sotto. –With Christina Mendez