Broken CCTVs at NAIA flagged

MANILA, Philippines — Several closed-circuit television cameras at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) are broken, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) admitted yesterday.

At a Senate public services committee hearing, MIAA assistant general manager Antonio Mendoza confirmed the claim of Frenchman Anthony Claude Boukhors, who had lost a luggage with three luxury watches worth P18 million, at the transport network vehicle service pick-up area at NAIA Terminal 1.

Attending the hearing virtually from Japan, Boukhors expressed disbelief over the airport’s blind spots.

“I was very surprised some CCTV were not operational, not working. That’s what they told me around airport and in front of Grab and without CCTV not working. And for such a big airport, I was very surprised,” Boukhors said, adding that the pick-up area had “zero cameras.”

Mendoza noted that the airport’s CCTV system is five years old and the New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC) has started taking over some of the equipment as part of the transition to privatization.

With the anticipated influx of passengers on All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days, panel chair Sen. Raffy Tulfo issued a 48-hour ultimatum to the MIAA and NNIC to submit a comprehensive status report and ensure all cameras are functioning.

Tulfo said his public service program recovered Boukhors’ three stolen watches.

With a tipster’s help, Tulfo said authorities tracked down the suspect, identified as Raymond Sarmiento, who reportedly sold the P18-million timepieces in Baclaran for P120,000.