Passenger complains of ‘liquid eraser’ scam at NAIA

MANILA, Philippines – After the tanim-bala or bullet-planting scandal at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), a Filipina traveler complained of a scam involving the use of liquid eraser.

Angie Nogot, who claimed to be a victim of the new scam, posted on Facebook on Monday that when she, her Japanese husband and her son were about to fly to Japan on Jan. 24, a Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) employee allegedly erased her Japanese surname from her alien registration card using correction fluid and asked her to show her marriage contract.

TIEZA personnel man the travel tax counters. The agency is under the Department of Tourism.

Nogot said she removed the correction fluid from the card and told off the employees. Had she not protested loudly, the employees would have tried to extort money from her, she added.

David de Castro, Manila International Authority spokesman, said the MIAA has talked with the TIEZA personnel involved.

“It will be good to set aside the idea of a scam for now and look at this objectively,” he said.

Nogot claimed that the incident happened when she was asked to pay P200 as travel tax for herself and P1,600 for her child.

De Castro said that “if we check the procedures of TIEZA, the P200 is the processing fee for the travel tax exemption. There are also certain documents you have to present for this depending on one’s status.”

He added that the MIAA has sent a response to the passenger involved and is waiting for her reply.

TIEZA, on the other hand, denied its employees were using correction fluid.

“We are not using liquid eraser here. Our job is to issue receipts to the passengers after paying their travel tax,” a TIEZA employee said.

TIEZA said Nogot’s Facebook post was later deleted.