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OTS personnel display honesty’; return money, gold

Ma. O Aplasca
Photo shows OTS head Ma. O Aplasca. (JERRY S. TAN)

TWO incidents that display honesty among Security Screening Officers (SSO) of the Office for Transportation Security (OTS) took place in a span of two weeks at the Davao International Airport and the Caticlan Airport.

A report furnished by OTS public affairs division chief Kim Alyssa Marquez said that last March 2, 2023, SSO Joben Gamis turned over to airline personnel a bag containing cash and valuable items, after it was left behind at the security screening checkpoint by a Japanese passenger of Philippine Airlines Flight PR 1812 bound for Manila.

The Japanese, identified as Tanague Taro, left at the Davao International airport his bag containing a total of 212,000 yen or equivalent to about P86,000 apart from a car key, jacket, belt, slippers, chocolate and mobile phone charger.

Marquez said Taro was paged through the airport’s public address system, but no response was made by the passenger. It was later found out that he had already boarded the plane which was about to take off.

OTS honesty
Photo shows the Japanese yen recovered by the OTS. (JERRY S. TAN)

His bag was carried by the airline onto its next flight bound for Manila, for its eventual return to the passenger.

Before that, on February 18, 2023, SSOs Jeanalyn Alejandro and Mhay Raga assigned at the Caticlan Airport found a gold bracelet left by a passenger at the security screening checkpoint.

As a matter of procedure, the incident was recorded and the item was turned over to Security-in-Charge Felix Dungganon for safekeeping until it was retrieved and claimed by the owner, Marquez said.

OTS Administrator Undersecretary Ma.O Aplasca expressed his respect and appreciation to these OTS- SSOs “whose integrity remained intact despite the challenges that the organization is currently facing.”

Aplasca also vowed that the management is doing its best to uplift the livelihood of OTS frontliners through the submitted proposal to the Congress and Office of the President through the Department of Transportation.

Itchie G. Cabayan
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