Department of Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon announced that three Office of Transport Security (OTS) personnel said to have been involved in an incident now being tagged as another possible ‘tanim-bala’ incident and which took place last March 6 at the NAIA Terminal 3, have already been relieved from their posts pending the outcome of an investigation.
Dizon said they are treating the matter seriously and vowed that appropriate investigations will be conducted and proper administrative charges will be filed if necessary, even as OTS administrator General Arthur Velasco Bisnar was directed to issue the dismissal orders on the three personnel.
President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. also ordered a thorough investigation into the incident at the NAIA.
“Yes, this should not happen again. The President has ordered an immediate investigation, and if proven true, those responsible could face dismissal from their positions,” Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro told a press conference.
The controversy stemmed from a video posted on social media and which went viral.
The post was made by a 69-year-old passenger identified as Ruth Adel, who complained that she and her family almost missed their flight to Vietnam after the said OTS personnel claimed to have detected an ‘anting-anting’ (amulet) in the form of a bullet shell found inside her luggage, a charge she vehemently denies.
According to Adel, they were already ats the boarding gate when the OTS personnel approached her, claiming that an X-ray scan had detected a bullet shell in her luggage. The incident is now under investigation.
