G.A. Viray
MANILA, Philippines. Seventeen Office of Transportation Security (OTS) personnel have been fired from their posts because of the “tanim-bala” (bullet planting) controversy. An investigation conducted by OTS revealed that there were some discrepancies in the records of the passengers involved in the controversy.
According to ABS-CBN News, Rolando Recomono, OTS administrator, said that the 17 employees have already been fired.
Recomono said, “Wala naman sigurong gubat na walang ahas. Ni-rerelieve namin ‘to, ang total ng screener namin dito ay labimpito, 17 ito. Ang dalawa dito, ‘yung involved kay Mr. White.” (There are no jungles without snakes. We have relieved all the 17 screeners, two of them were involved in Mr. White’s controversy.) Lane Michael White is the son of an American pastor who was accused of carrying bullets in his luggage and who subsequently claimed that OTS screeners were trying to extort money from him.
The OTS’s internal investigation also revealed that the bullet confiscations increased in September and October 2015, with 267 recorded cases. It was also revealed that from January to October 2015, over 1,400 passengers were apprehended for bringing in bullets to the airport with only 70 of them charged.
Furthermore, Recomono said that during their investigation, they tried to bring in bullets but were not apprehended by the screeners. “Depende ngayon ‘yun dun sa machine. ‘Pag hindi tumunog, there’s something wrong dun sa walkthrough, dun sa machine. Kina-calibrate po ‘yung machine“. (It depends on the machine. If it doesn’t make any sound, there’s something wrong with the walkthrough. We are calibrating the machine.)
On a final note, Recomono said that the public should not judge the entire institution for the recent controversy, noting that they are removing “undesirable elements” from the OTS.
As of this writing, the results of the investigation of the OTS have been sent to the Department of Justice (DOJ). The National Bureau of Investigation, however, did not release any statement regarding its separate investigation.
Watch the full report here:
Featured Photo Credit: Manila Coconuts
