Two security screening officers of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) were temporarily relieved of their post amid a pending investigation for supposedly involving in an extortion (kotong) incident. The alleged incident happened last September 18 as they allegedly victimized a Los Angeles-bound Filipino woman but the victim took to social media and her post went viral online.
The alleged victim took to social media to express her dismay over a male and a female NAIA personnel at the airport’s Terminal 2 who allegedly found bullets in one of her three bags.
The victim who was identified as Facebook user Rhed Austria De Guzman who narrated the entire incident on her social media account.
“My bags were X-rayed as per procedure. Pero paglabas ng gamit ko galing sa X-ray eh bigla akong tinawag ng Naia staff! Isip-isip ko eh wala naman akong dalang kahit ano, pagkain lamang! Lumapit agad ang isa at binulungan ako na baka raw may dala akong anting-anting o agimat o kung ano man na baon ko sa bagahe. Diyos ko po, wala akong alam dun!” De Guzman said.
According to De Guzman the male officer suspiciously inserted his hand in the pocket of her bag, and showed two bullets when he withdrew it. The victim maintained that the bullets were not hers, but one of the porter whispered to her and advise her to solve the problem by bribing the security screening officers giving them P500 and the porter another P200 to solve her problem.
The social media rant of De Guzman went viral unexpectly which resulted into investigation. According to Jonathan Maliwat, spokesperson of the Department of Transportatin and Communications’ Office for Transport Security (DOTC-OTS), the alleged security screening officers were already being probed and temporarily relieved from duty.