EDITORIAL - Planting bullets

Crooked anti-narcotics cops plant drugs to shake down innocent individuals. At the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, if complaints are true, certain personnel are planting bullets in the luggage of unsuspecting travelers.

A 20-year-old American tourist on his way to Palawan last month complained that he was detained for six days by aviation police at the NAIA Terminal 1 on accusations that bullets were found in his luggage as it passed through the x-ray machine. Lane Michael White alleged that a member of the Office of Transportation Security demanded P30,000 to let him off.  Unauthorized possession of bullets is a violation of Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Act.

Malacañang described it as an isolated case. But White’s story was followed by a similar one posted on Facebook by Filipino-American Rhed Austria de Guzman. A bag inspector and x-ray machine operator at the NAIA have since been suspended. Some members of the House of Representatives are also considering an inquiry.

The so-called “laglag-bala” scheme is just the latest scandal at the airport named after President Aquino’s assassinated father. With an ongoing renovation and the transfer of several carriers to Terminal 3, the NAIA 1 is starting to look like a modern airport. Perhaps it will fare better in the next online surveys on the quality of airports around the world. The physical improvement, however, must be matched by better service.

NAIA personnel have been accused by other international travelers of improper and even criminal behavior, including stealing designer bags and other expensive items left by tourists at the terminal for temporary safekeeping.

Airport management cannot be reminded often enough that a nation’s gateways have a powerful impact on travelers’ perceptions of a country. It took several harsh reviews on the state of the world’s airports before Philippine officials grasped the importance of having clean, comfortable, efficiently functioning gateways with modern amenities such as free Wi-Fi access. The “laglag-bala” scandal can only derail efforts to improve services in what is supposed to be the nation’s premier gateway.