GOOD IDEA? | OTS’ solution to curb illegal acts of airport personnel: Disallow jackets, pockets

March 3, 2023 , 01:42 PM

By Beatrice Puente

(March 3, 2023) – As part of its immediate response, the Office for Transportation Security (OTS) on Friday said its personnel will no longer be allowed to wear jackets and uniforms with pockets following the recent incidents of theft at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

OTS administrator Ma.O Aplasca said they aim to fully implement the new policy by next week. He explained that the alleged pocketing of Y20,000 or P8,000 done by some OTS personnel from a tourist from Thailand prompted this move.

“‘Di ba sinilid sa bulsa (‘yung pera)? Isa sa immediate action namin ay pinatanggal muna namin ‘yung mga jacket ng aming mga tao kapag naka-duty sa airport. Pinag-usapan din namin (‘yung) sana wala nang pockets ‘yung ating mga empleyado sa ating airports,” said Aplasca in a phone interview with News5.

Of the five suspended staff, Aplasca said only three were found liable for the stealing incident. Two of them, who were hired as job order workers, were already removed while the contract-of-service staff will follow suit.

Aplasca said they kept in touch with the victim to ensure that those involved will be held accountable. Aside from this case, a tourist from China and another tourist from Thailand said they experienced similar cases. Even the staff of Sen. Grace Poe allegedly lost a gadget during the airport inspection.

Aplasca said they are now tracking past incidents that may have gone unreported. He also urged the public to report similar incidents they may have experienced to address airport security concerns.

“Ito ‘yung mga pinapapabalikan ko kung ano ba ang mga circumstances ng mga incident na ito. At saka gusto naming gumawa ng study kasi maraming nagtatanong kung ito ba talagang kultura na ba ito o may sindikato sa loob,” said Aplasca.

Despite the complaints, Aplasca said the theft cases do not represent the culture among the airport personnel, claiming that many others still have integrity.

“Mas marami naman ‘yung insidente na nagsauli ng mga naiwang kagamitan,” said Aplasca. “Marami ring mga insidenteng ganun kaya gusto kong maipon sana ‘yung previous complaints.”

NAIA has been tagged several times by international surveys as one of the worst airports in the world.

Aside from disallowing jackets and uniforms with pockets, Aplasca said they will reshuffle their staff by next week. He added that they will look into their recruitment and training process to prevent illicit acts from happening again.

Some lawmakers also pointed out that the low salary of airport personnel, which is below P20,000 per month, may have been a factor why some resort to stealing or extorting money from passengers.

“Challenge namin dito ‘yung long-term strategies natin. For example, reviewing ang aming recruitment policy tapos ‘yung pag-a-upgrade ng salary ng ating mga tauhan. Pati ‘yung training, baguhin natin, siguro magdagdag tayo ng modules,” said Aplasca.

(PM)

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