DOTC, MIAA chiefs face complaint over bullet scam

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday filed an administrative complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman against Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya and airport officials in connection with the alleged bullet-planting or "laglag-bala" scam.

Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) Chairman Dante Jimenez and Network of Independent Travel Agents (NITAS) Chairman Robert Lim Joseph were also among the complainants who joined Cayetano in the attempted move to have the officials preventively suspended amid reports on the extortion scam at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.

Abaya, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Jose Angel Honrado, Office for Transportation Security (OTS) Administrator Rolando Recomono and Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group (PNP-Avsegroup) Director Pablo Balagtas have been named respondents in the complaint.

"That a preventive suspension order be levelled against all the Respondents; That an investigation be conducted in order to determine the extent of administrative and criminal liability and civil liability to the victims," the complaint stated.

The senator, who is running for vice president in 2016, wants the DOTC, MIAA, OTS and PNP-Avsegroup officials to conduct a probe into airport employees who may be invovled in the alleged scheme.

The complainants also urged the Ombudsman to have involved officials employees dismissed from office if proven negligent of their duties citing command responsibility under Executive Order 226.

The complaint came following reports of passengers being accused of possessing ammunition in their luggage. The apprehended passengers at the airport suspected to be victims of a bullet-planting scheme, from which they would allegedly be extorted money.

Malacañang has ordered government agencies to validate the reported cases.