New DOJ chief: Tanim-bala incidents teach vigilance

MANILA, Philippines - The tanim-bala or bullet-planting incidents at the country’s airports should serve as a lesson for travelers, newly appointed acting Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas said yesterday.

“I think it’s a wake-up call for all of us, to be very… careful, to be very vigilant,” Caparas told reporters.

He replaced Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, who was earlier appointed by President Aquino as the Supreme Court’s new associate justice.

Caparas said the incidents – wherein security officers plant bullets in passengers’ luggage and demand money from the passengers in exchange for not filing charges – were “ just a small sample of what we need to be looking out for at the airport.”

Last year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) charged two Office of Transportation Security personnel and four Aviation Security Group police officers for planting evidence, robbery and extortion, graft and violating detainees’ rights.

The charges stemmed from a complaint filed by American missionary Lane Michael White and his stepmother Eloisa Zoleta after the airport personnel accused him of carrying a .22 caliber bullet in his luggage and detained him for six days.

White was released after a local court cleared him of charges.

Caparas said these incidents helped the DOJ tweak its services to help protect the public.

“That translates to not only putting physical presence – fiscals or prosecutors in the area, or having more investigators there – but also means, looking at processes, being able to also coordinate with other agencies and other parties, to be able to fortify the security of our airports,” he said.

Caparas also said discussions on amending laws covering tanim-bala incidents are ongoing. There are proposals to increase the prison term for officers proven to have planted bullets and to decriminalize the possession of less than three bullets.