Wrong people feeling ‘sorry’

The national indignation and global concern over the “Laglag Bala” crimes at the NAIA may turn out to be the wake up call that tolerant Filipinos have long been in need of. We have either been too patient or been feeling too guilty for voting such an incompetent government into office that many of us have kept quiet over all the screw-ups in government. But now that our own personal security and sense of justice is threatened while others have been violated, we all say enough is enough.

Unfortunately the wrong people are “sorry” and “sad” about the matter. As shown on TV, a number of airport security screeners attended mass and during the “program” were heard lamenting how their lives have been turned upside down, their reputations tarnished and their morale in tatters. Unfortunately because a “few” criminals were allowed to extort without challenge, all the screeners must now suffer the shame. The worst part of the scenario is that high-ranking officials have been stoking this sense of despair and seeming persecution among the NAIA personnel when in fact it is the high ranking officials at NAIA and at the DOTC who deserve condemnation for this national embarrassment.

NAIA General Manager Honrado for instance has stated that he likes a good fight and sees no logic in asking officials to resign because there can be an issue every three months and every three months an official would have to resign if the public or media demanded it. For the record, Honrado has been General Manager of the NAIA for 65 months or five years and four months. The public is not interested in the “fighting words” of a retired General or the bravado of a political appointee! The public is entitled to competent service, accountability from public officials, and real solutions not press releases!

The “issues” that confront the NAIA are not mere “issues” but failure of service, gross incompetence if not dereliction of duty on many counts. At the top of the list are numerous claims of evidence planting, frame up or imputation of a criminal act. The “Laglag Bala” incidents are not simple acts of extortion like we experience on the road or government offices where there are no long-term damage or ruin.

When you are framed up for illegal possession of a bullet, you end up with a “record” that can ruin you when you get a police clearance or NBI clearance as required for employment or travel purposes! The travellers who were stopped lost all the money they spent for their trip and in many cases close to a hundred thousand pesos for those who paid placement fees etc., as well as the possibility of employment abroad. Lives and personal finances were and are ruined by something government officials trivialize as a mere “issue.”

But now that the tables have turned, we may actually see lawsuits filed at the Office of the Ombudsman against these same officials for serious graft. Recently no less than the PAO Chief Persida Acosta asked: “if less than 100 cases have gone to the fiscals office or to court, what happened to the 900 other arrests?” Obviously some people took the law into their own hands, acted as judges and dismissed the charges and did away with filing of cases, on what basis?

Last week, the media and the public learned about Filipinas who were arrested with 2.5 kilos of cocaine abroad. This is not the first case in the last five years. Several Pinoys and Pinays have somehow gone through NAIA only to be arrested in parts of China and other countries. If airport screeners can find a tiny .22 caliber bullet, how does five kilos of shabu or 2.5 kilos of cocaine pass through? Based on what the public is told, the NAIA, specially terminal 1 and 2 have two X-ray machines at pre-departure and a third one below where the baggage are screened prior to loading on planes. In between, there are supposed to be million-peso dogs on contract as K-9 drug sniffers. So if several shipments slip through, then it is accurate to say that we have a failure of security at the NAIA.

Add to that, pilferage of baggage, pickpockets, illegal taxi contractors and the unrestricted access of unauthorized solicitors and we can conclude that GM Honrado and his executives are not under fire for mere “issues.” They are under fire for failing to do their duty.

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Thanks to the evidence planting and frame-up related to the “Laglag Bala” crimes, Filipinos have been reminded and now realize that the P-Noy Misadministration that hates anything Marcos-related, has actually continued with an oppressive law or policy that infringes on our constitutional right to travel. The travel tax that was imposed by Ferdinand Marcos to prevent the depletion of our dollar reserves continues to be imposed today in spite of the fact that we have more dollar reserves than we need.

In fact we now have an expanded version of the travel tax. It is now imposed on foreigners with permanent resident status in the Philippines. Aside from the P2,400 “exit clearance” fee paid to the Bureau of Immigration, the added P1,600 travel tax becomes a whopping P4,000. With so many Filipinos/Filipinas married to foreigners, the additional travel tax is actually double taxation! Come to think of it, it’s probably now bigger than the entire “Coco Levy” ever collected!

Incidentally I heard that the BI office at the NAIA that issues the “Exit Clearance” is only open during office hours or up to 7 p.m. So people in need of the exit permit can’t leave later than 7 am or earlier than 8 am? What about those taking late evening or early morning flights? How many people does it take to issue such permits? I hope Commissioner Mison can look into the matter knowing how responsive the BI actually has been in recent years.

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