Immigration, airline officials decry new airport security measures

Some immigration and airline officials are complaining that US-bound flights are being delayed by at least 20 minutes because of new security measures implemented at Ninoy Aquino International Airport as required by the US government.

"We have no sovereignty in our own country," one immigration official told The STAR. "Whatever America wants, we just obey."

The new security measures imposed by the US Transport Security Administration now require passengers departing for the United States to have their shoes checked for explosives or weapons at the final check-in counter.

Passengers must also remove their jackets and empty their pockets and submit the articles to be x-rayed.

Local officials say departing passengers will have to come to the airport three hours before their flight time to avoid delays.

Last November, airport officials installed a US-designed computer identification system that will help security personnel identify passengers who may pose a security risk and prevent them from boarding.

Passengers were required to submit passports and other pertinent documents to airport authorities. Passenger information were relayed to the Transport Security Administration for clearance.

But the security measure caused huge delays to airlines and it was pulled out.

Airport sources said the computer system, named PIECES, will again be installed once they figure out how to minimize the passengers’ waiting time, which was about four to seven minutes per passenger.

Authorities raised the airport security level over the weekend upon the advice of US aviation security officials following intelligence reports that terrorists were targeting the airport.

Manila International Airport Authority general manager Edgardo Manda said they plan to purchase high-tech equipment from the United States to improve security.

Washington recently renewed its travel advisory on the Philippines warning Americans of possible terrorist threats in the country.

President Arroyo protested the renewal, saying tight security measures remained in place across the country to deter possible attacks.

"The terrorist threat to Americans in the Philippines remains high and the embassy continues to receive reports of ongoing activities by known terrorist groups," the State Department said.

"In view of a number of security-related incidents and the possibility of future terrorism and other violence or criminal activity, Americans traveling to or residing in the Philippines are urged to exercise great caution and maintain heightened security awareness," it said in a statement.

Americans were urged to defer non-essential travel to Mindanao "due to recurrent bombing incidents and threats of other violence and criminal activity, including kidnapping."

The State Department cited the recent bombing incidents in Mindanao, particularly the Jan. 4 bombing of a basketball game in Parang, Maguindanao that left at least 16 people dead and 68 others wounded.

The advisory also mentioned the bombing of the Davao International Airport in March 4 last year.

Americans were reminded to defer non-essential travel to Mindanao, where there have been numerous bombings and abductions.

They were also advised to avoid crowds and popular nightspots and to be vigilant in other public areas like shopping malls or while taking public transportation.

Philippine security forces are hunting down the remnants of the notorious Abu Sayyaf Islamic kidnap gang as well as suspected operatives of the regional terror group Jemaah Islamiyah believed to be hiding in the country.

Jemaah Islamiyah and the Abu Sayyaf have been linked to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda terrorist network.

The government is also battling the communist New People’s Army (NPA) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Western governments consider the NPA a terrorist organization while the MILF reportedly had ties with Jemaah Islamiyah.

The NPA has been waging a Marxist revolution since the 1970s while the MILF has been fighting for an independent Islamic state in Mindanao.