DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines — More than 100 passengers of a Manila-bound flight were stranded last Wednesday (May 9) at the Dumaguete Airport for four hours after a fellow passenger allegedly made a bomb joke during the boarding process.
The suspect was identified as a 69-year-old clergyman, Chief Inspector Ruel Baganes, station chief of the PNP’s Aviation Security Group (AVSEGROUP) in Dumaguete, told The Freeman in an interview.
The Freeman is withholding his name due to a request from AVSEGROUP head Chief Superintendent Dionardo Carlos.
Baganes said the suspect was aboard Philippine Airlines Flight 2546 scheduled to leave for Manila at around 11 a.m.
The commotion began when flight attendant Tejan Canoneo told the suspect to transfer his food package, which he put at a vacant seat beside him, at the designated space under his seat. He reportedly declined at first.
When Canoneo insisted that the clergyman should follow his instructions, the suspect reportedly snapped back: “Huwag kang mag-alala. Pagkain naman ito, hindi bomba.”
The flight attendant immediately reported the incident to his supervisor Ramona Salva, who in turn reported it to the plane’s pilot, identified only as Captain Trinidad. The pilot then notified the control tower at the Dumaguete Airport; AVSEGROUP officers and security personnel from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) immediately responded to the scene.
Passengers of the PAL flight were then requested to deplane, as officers from the PNP Bomb Squad immediately searched the plane, which was eventually cleared from any threat of explosives.
The suspect, Canoneo, and the flight supervisor were then called to the AVSEGROUP station for questioning. As the investigation turned out, the clergyman did not make a bomb joke.
However, because he reportedly did not obey instructions given by an aircraft employee, the clergyman may face charges of violating provisions of Republic Act 9497 or The Civil Aviation Authority Act of 2008.
“That may have not been a bomb joke, but given our response to the incident, it can even be called a bomb threat,” Baganes said.
After a thorough inspection by the PNP Bomb Squad, passengers of Flight 2546 left the Dumaguete Airport at around 3:05 p.m., four hours later from their scheduled time of departure.
The suspect also managed to fly to Manila; however, he was accommodated in a different flight from PAL rival Cebu Pacific as a chance passenger.
While PAL’s local management declined to issue an affidavit on the incident, the airline’s legal department in Manila is considering filing the appropriate charges against the 69-year-old clergyman, Baganes added.
Authorities often take bomb jokes seriously as making them is considered a serious offense under Presidential Decree 1727.