The Department of Transportation has fired three employees of its Office of Transportation Security, who were allegedly involved in an incident called “tanim-bala”, which occurred at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon announced this during a Monday media conference
Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon at the joint presscon of DOTr and OTS on Monday, March 10, 2025./ GMA News
“After the investigation, the appropriate administrative charges will be filed.” We are terminating these cases already today. Dizon said, “I’ve already told General [OTS administrator Arthur Velasco] Bisnar that I want to issue this order today.”
“We will not tolerate any abuse.” We will respond to any abuse with the same results and swift action, as the President himself has ordered. We will not let this happen,” he said.
The termination came after a woman aged 69, who was traveling to Vietnam with her family, accused the security personnel at NAIA of “tanim bal” or bullet planting as they were about to board on March 6.
In a viral social media post, Ruth Adel, 69, said that she and her family nearly missed their flight because NAIA security claimed to have an x ray image of an amulet or “anting-anting”, which is an amulet shaped like a bullet casing.
A physical inspection of said bag revealed no bullet casings.
Dizon also said that he had tasked OTS to review the screening procedures and security protocols at airports.
He also said the DOTr would set up a hotline for passengers to report their experiences in NAIA.
Bisnar said that the investigation into the three OTS employees was still ongoing but that irregularities were evident.
“Ang sinasabi ng ating personnel ay nagmamadaling kunin ng pasahero ang bagahe nila. So kahit may na-detect sila na mukhang basyo o bala sa x-ray, nung tinignan nila ay nakuha na ng pasahero,” he narrated.
The video
(Our personnel claim that the passengers were in an urgent hurry to get their bags. When they saw something that looked like an x-ray bullet, the passengers already had their luggage.
“Ang mali naman na ginawa ay supposedly ang SOP ay doon mismo ‘yung physical check. So may pagkukulang rin talaga ang ating mga tao dahil hinabol pa nila sa boarding gate at hindi pa nila sigurado kung sino ‘yung pasahero at anong baggage ang involved,” he added.
The mistake of our staff was that they should have done the physical inspection right there. Our personnel made a big mistake, because they chased passengers to the gate without knowing who they were or what luggage they had.
Senator Grace Poe is vice-chairperson for the Senate Public Services Committee. She welcomed the quick action taken by the DOTr but warned that the authorities “mustn’t allow this defanged plan to make a return to harass passengers anew.”
Poe said that innocent travelers did not deserve the trauma caused by rogue staff at airports who were supposed to be providing security and not endangering their safety.
She added, “We hope that as the investigation progresses, assistance can be extended to the victim of this disturbing crime who is 69 years old.”
The Senate investigated the TaLaBa extortion scam at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in 2015.
Source GMA News
