MANILA, Philippines — Although it apologized for the incident, the Manila International Airport Authority said a Filipino content creator's luggage was tampered with elsewhere and not at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Ady Cotoco, a content creator on TikTok, arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 on an Etihad Airways plane. When he got his suitcases, he saw that the luggage lock was broken and one of his bags was lighter than he remembered.
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In a statement sent to reporters, the MIAA said that the apparent theft did not happen in its terminals and said it "expects Etihad Airways to extend immediate assistance to passenger while the investigation continues." The MIAA has jurisdiction over the four passenger terminals at NAIA..
"We extend our sincere apologies to Etihad passenger Ady Cotoco for his unpleasant experience upon arrival at NAIA Terminal 3 yesterday, September 8, 2022, when one of his baggage was discovered pilfered," the statement reads.
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"An all-night investigation conducted by MIAA and Etihad through a review of various CCTV footage revealed that the luggage tampering could not have happened at NAIA Terminal 3 but at foreign airports where passenger made stop-overs enroute to Manila."
The victim said he lost P200,000 worth of luxury items, including expensive shoes, bags, perfumes, and clothes per a report by GMA News' "Unang Balita".
"I was really traumatized because for the first time in 23 years that I have been traveling this happened to me. What if this happens to our fellow Filipinos who really worked hard for that money, they bought it for their loved ones and suddenly someone else stole it," Catoco was quoted as saying.