Sen. Recto: There's a "Maleta Gang" Targeting OFWs at NAIA

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Aside from "Laglag Bala syndicate" in Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) that victimizing Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), tourist or even dignitaries another problem that is still persisting is the baggage theft.

After the latest incident where four baggage handlers in NAIA are arrested for allegedly stealing the jewelry of the wife of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Senate President Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto believes that there is syndicate in NAIA involving its personnel in stealing from bags of passengers, especially OFWs.

Read:Turkish Foreign Minister's Wife, Robbed at the NAIA

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With this, Recto said, the government should arrest the leaders and destroy this syndicate.

The senator believes that Philippines will be spared from embarrassing incident if authorities had to stop these shameful activities in NAIA.

He is urging the National Bureau of Investigation and other non-NAIA based agencies to conduct an investigation and spearhead the arrest of the suspects.

Read: No Pocket Policy, Impleted in NAIA

Read: NAIA Theft vs. Baggage Handler Stole Toothbrush from Passenger in Dubai


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“When you steal from OFWs, they who are returning from long and low-paying hard labor abroad, then you are an enemy of the state,” Recto said.

Recto added this crime only add up to a negative connotation with NAIA as one of the worst airports in the world in terms of passengers facilities.

“You are paying airport security fee, and then your things are not secured. So what’s the use of paying for your security and the security of your things,” added Recto.

With this, Recto said, a serious airport clean-up drive is needed, not only in NAIA but also in all airports in the Philippines.

Only this month when Recto instructed airport security to investigate the alleged new case of "Laglag Bala" in NAIA where according to report, a Korean student is a new victim.

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GOOD NEWS IF FOUND WITH A BULLET AT THE AIRPORT - YOU WILL NOT BE ARRESTED OR FILED A CASE WITH!

The OTS is really serious in their campaign against the TANIM-BALA after over a year that OFWs and Pilipino are abhorred about this international crisis. International in a sense because many other news and segment in different countries had picked up the story and become a shameful news about the Philippine airport - particularly - NAIA.

There was an experienced last Saturday afternoon at NAIA Terminal 1, the X-ray scan detected a live bullet and two empty shells inside the check-in luggage of a departing OFW, OTS called the attention of the OFW, asked him to view his luggage and asked the OFW to remove the bullet from his luggage and proceed to the Middle East.

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OTS Denros said that many people still believe in bullets as amulets or good luck charms, and some passengers are caught in the airport with amulets in their luggage.

Last year, an overseas Filipino worker named Nanay Gloria, an working in Hongkong who was arrested for allegedly having a bullet in her luggage was in danger of losing her job. This created a fury of comments and social media posts from the disgruntled OFWs.

The PNP investigation regarding the tanim-bala scheme has finally revealed that 21 police officers assigned in NAIA  or the Philippine National Police-Aviation Security Group (PNP-ASG)  did not file reports for the passengers arrested for alleged possession of ammunition.

Mayor Rodrigo Duterte issued a stern warning to the PDEA, that he plans to abolished if he become president and to the people working at the NAIA airport that he wants them to retire from the government service.

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DOJ SECRETARY: TANIM-BALA ISSUE IS DEAD, IF YOU GET CAUGHT, WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING

“This is another, I think without prejudging, it seems another unfortunate event na ginagamit lang ito for media purposes." -Acting Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas

“If you are talking about people planting bullets, airport security [has] stepped up considerately since the events last year. We have protocols already in place to protect the public from instances like this” 

“If I may say this one more time, itong tanim-bala na ito, maraming lumalabas na kung anu-ano harassment, extortion, wag na po sana nating palakihin ito (this tanim-bala issue, there are things coming out like harass…Let us not suspect other people of wrongdoing if we do not have firm information about that. It is not fair to our authorities. Marami na pong nagawang magandang trabaho ang ating airport at police authorities." -Acting Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas

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“I know that the people have already been warned not to bring bullets to the airport when you are leaving or even when you are arriving and I would like to think that we are more responsible than trying to tempt fate or try to bring and smuggle bullets this way. Pag nahuli po tayo wala tayong magagawa jan." -Acting Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas

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MIAA MANAGER HONRADO: CCTV AT NAIA CANNOT BE GIVEN TO ANYBODY INCLUDING MEDIA

CCTV Camera recordings or copy thereof cannot be given to media or anybody requesting it except the court or police for their investigation according to MIAA Manager Angel Honrado.

On the other hand, a memorandum was signed between several agencies to protect the welfare of OFWs if caught with bullet or a victim of tanim-bala.

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NEW MEASURES TO PROTECT OFW IF CAUGHT WITH TANIM BALA AT AIRPORT

IF OFW IS CAUGHT WITH TANIM-BALA AT THE AIRPORT?

AGENCY WILL INFORM EMPLOYER OF THE DELAY OF ARRIVAL

• POEA WILL PROVIDE ASSISTANCE AND WILL HELP REBOOK FLIGHTS
• PAO WILL PROVIDE LEGAL COUNSELS/LAWYER
• OWWA WILL PROVIDE ACCOMMODATION AND ARRANGE TRAVEL/FLIGHT TO PROVINCE

SECTION VI

UNDERTAKINGS OF POEA

6.1. Provide representatives and / or facilitation personnel in NAIA terminals Twenty Four hours a day / Seven days a week to assist 
OFWs intercepted with prohibited items in their person/luggages/cargoes.

6.2. Assist OFW resolve the interception and in some instance, 
earnestly rebook their flights in coordination with airline companies.

6.3. Upon knowledge of a report of an incident, advice the worker emphasizing on his rights as a person who might be, or eventually be, or is already subject of a Custodial Investigation.

6.4. Request the Public Attorney’s Office for immediate designation of a Public Attorney to provide legal representation to the worker during investigation, inquest proceedings, preliminary investigation and trial, as the case may be, if he/she has not yet contacted a lawyer of his/her choice.

6.5. Provide, when needed or as may be requested by law enforcement authorities, documents to establish that the person being held in custody is an OFW.

6.6. Require Recruitment Agencies that deployed the subject OFW to provide assistance to the worker by contacting and making representation with the employer on the potential delay in the worker’s arrival. Information as to the status or circumstances of the case must be treated with utmost confidentiality.

6.7. Undertake public information by incorporating the prohibited acts defined under R.A. No. 10591 in Pre-Employment Orientation Seminar(PEOS) and other workers education programs, including the issuance of advisories.

SECTION VII

UNDERTAKINGS OF OWWA

7.1. Provide immediate assistance to the worker or accompanying family member subject of an investigation especially on his/her welfare needs during the conduct of investigation including safekeeping of their personal belongings;

7.2. Undertake intake interview, where possible, to collect personal information, Overseas Employment Status/Record and further welfare needs of the OFW;

7.3. Provide, when needed, relevant information/documents to show proof that person under investigation is an OFW;

7.4. Contact, upon request of, or with the consent of the OFW, the family,relative or a friend of the worker including counsel of choice if any;

7.5. Provide accommodation when the worker has been released from police custody and while waiting for his/her rebooked flight or arrangements for return to his/her hometown, as the case may be;

7.6. Provide stress debriefing and psycho-social counselling of the subject worker including accompanying family member if any prior to rebooking/redeployment;

7.7. Incorporate prohibited acts defined under R.A. No. 10591 in the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS)

FINAL MOU Task Force Bala

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12 YEARS IMPRISONMENT OVER 1 BULLET

The penalties if you are caught with a single live bullet can range from 6 to 8 years imprisonment or up to 10 to 12 years, depending on the type of ammunition according to the PNP Aviation Security Group.

A live ammunition refers to a complete unfixed unit consisting of a bullet, gunpowder, cartridge case, and a primer or loaded shell for use in any firearm. For example a single 22-caliber bullet, can be considered dangerous because it can be fired using pliers or even a hammer. Source

Bail for this can cost a Filipino P80,000 or P120,000 for foreigners. 

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IN CEBU MACTAN AIRPORT, BULLETS ARE ONLY CONFISCATED FROM PASSENGERS

Report via
Sunstar Cebu: AT LEAST 1,322 bullets and empty shells have been confiscated in Mactan airport since the year began, or about four such items every day.

Officials of agencies operating in the Mactan Cebu International Airport reported this in a press conference yesterday, to illustrate that the discovery of bullets from passengers isn’t that unusual.

But they also assured that there is no “tanim-bala” extortion racket in Mactan. The controversy began to develop 10 days ago when an overseas Filipino worker alleged that the bullet found in her luggage had been planted there.

Most of the bullets confiscated in Mactan—1,040 out of 1,322—were duds that had been transformed into amulets. Only 282 were live bullets.

In the press conference, General Manager Nigel Paul Villarete of the Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) said that only one last year and another one this year were charged in court for carrying bullets in their baggage.

The leadership of Mactan International Airport.

READ MORE: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2015/11/04/stopped-mactan-1040-amulets-282-bullets-439748
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Already 11 Person Apprehended for Bullet Cases Freed with the Help of PAO

ATTORNEY PERSIDA ACOSTA AND THE VICTIM OF TAMIN BALA AT NAIA
ATTORNEY PERSIDA ACOSTA AND THE VICTIM OF TAMIN BALA AT NAIA#LOLOKUNGADIK (◣_◢) #HALALAAN2016BORING BA ANG FACEBOOK MO? PUNTA KA DITO (◣_◢)CLICK AND LIKE MO ETO --> https://www.facebook.com/LOLOKUNGADIK/video
Posted by LOLO KUNG ADIK on Friday, November 6, 2015

True to her promise to support OFWs and those victims of laglag-bala or tanim-bala at NAIA, 6 of those apprehended including a US Filipino veteran and an OFW was freed by Atty. PERSIDA ACOSTA of the Public Attorney's Office.

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TWO FACES OF OFW VICTIMS OF BULLET PLANTING AT NAIA

A Qatar-bound OFW named Melody Valdez of Pangasinan was apprehended on Nov 3 after an x-ray screener spotted a bullet wrapped in plastic in her brown luggage. Inquirer reported that the bag of Qatar-bound OFW Melody Valdez, 40, allegedly contained a .45 cal. bullet when it went through the initial security screening checkpoint of Naia Terminal 1 at 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

Valdez initially denied having any ammunition in her bag, which was tightly wrapped in plastic.  It was close to 10 p.m. when her recruitment officer arrived and she agreed to open her luggage for inspection.  The bullet was found inside a pouch.

She denied the bullet was hers and claimed that somebody might have planted the ammunition when she used the restroom and momentarily left her baggage.

“Alam ko naman po na bawal magdala ng bala kaya malakas ang loob ko na pabuksan ang maleta ko. Hindi ko po alam talaga na may bala sa loob ng maleta ko,"

Via Rappler news: Gloria Ortinez was arrested on October 25 and prevented from leaving the country for Hong Kong after authorities claimed to have found a bullet wrapped in red cloth inside her bag at NAIA 2. According to media reports, she was released on October 27.

The 56-year-old migrant worker has denied that the bullet was hers. Ortinez also said that she would never bring the bullet with her as she was well aware of Hong Kong's strict security laws.

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This Victim Of Lag-lag-Bala or Tanim Bala Files a Case at NBI Against the NAIA Security Personnel

Via Inquirer News: MARIA Paz Triaz needed no prodding from anyone to reveal to authorities her traumatic experience as a victim of a “tanim-bala” (bullet-planting) scam at the airport last week on her way to Singapore to accompany her cancer-stricken grandmother for a medical checkup.

The 34-year-old housewife Tuesday went to the National Bureau of Investigation to recount how a bullet was purportedly planted in her backpack on Oct. 27 and how authorities told her, when she vehemently denied owning it, to sign a document saying that she carried it as an amulet and would be able to board her flight.

Triaz said she told the personnel conducting the screening at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3 she was willing to be detained and face investigators and contest the mysterious presence of the bullet in her backpack. Told that she would not be prosecuted and could continue with her journey, she signed the document.

Triaz, her grandmother, mother and uncle then proceeded to Singapore and returned four days later.

The incident involving the Triaz family happened amid a national and international outrage over travelers claiming that bullets had been planted in their luggage at the country’s airports as part of an extortion scheme.

The smart-looking housewife, in expensive clothes and wearing jewelry, said going to the NBI was an “enlightened decision.”

“I have to come forward despite the fact that I was not detained after I signed a document that it was an amulet,” Triaz said in an interview at the NBI headquarters.

“My mother convinced me that to allow and ignore what happened to me and my family at Terminal 3 of Naia in the morning of Oct. 27 was like tolerating the illegal activities of these airport personnel,” said Triaz, who added she and her grandmother were accompanied by an uncle and her mother in the Singapore trip.

“Until now my cancer-stricken grandmother could not be comforted due to the traumatic experience of the thought that I could go to jail,” Triaz said.

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/736653/traveler-tells-how-bala-works#ixzz3qUNN6ogx

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OFW Bound For QATAR is New Victim of Laglag-Bala or Tanim-Bala?

At the NAIA Terminal 1, Qatar -bound Melody Valdez of Pangasinan was apprehended at 8 p.m. after x-ray screener Mariel Magtalas spotted a bullet wrapped in plastic in her brown luggage.

Inspector Laher Maningca impounded the bag.

Valdez was supposed to board an Etihad flight at 10 p.m.

She asked that a representative of her recruitment agency be present before the bag was opened.

Source: Philstar.com

We are verifying updated reports and will upload video as soon as we have them. Please standby.

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77 YEARS OLD GOING TO AMERICA, LATEST VICTIM OF TANIM-BALA AT NAIA?

4 person was apprehended today at the NAIA airport because xrays and screening officers found bullet on their wallets and bags. One of them is 77 years old veteran from Iloilo who is going back to the US. Watch the videos below.

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PNP Is Asking All OFWs, Don't Bring Amulets When You Travel Abroad

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT TANIM-BALA?

1. PNoy order's probe of tanim-bala. Mar wants truth behind it while Coloma says it is only isolated case and that the safety of the general public is the priority.

2. PNP AVSE Group says impossible for any person to plant bullets in the bags of the airline passengers, passengers, they said, bring bullets for “good luck charm” and “protection.” “Especially if you are an overseas Filipino worker, there’s uncertainty in your life. You will draw strength from the amulet,”

Watch the Explanation and Full Video below

3. Secretary Abaya says to install more CCTV at the airport. Lacierda says the media is to be blame for blowing it.

4. Seneres and other lawmakers are asking PNoy to remove Honrado. Honrado says he will not resign for he is fighting a good fight.

5. Duterte says it is a syndicate, and willing to defend OFW victims.

6. This is the very logical, sound suggestion to amend the RA 10591

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