A 24-year-old con artist believed to have robbed at least 30 passengers, mostly returning overseas Filipino workers, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) has been arrested.
Rey John Manglay was accosted at the Naia Terminal 1 shuttle bus transfer area, initially for using a fake ID card, according to Roque Alcantara, Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa) intelligence and access department manager.
At that time, Manglay was believed to be on his way to Terminal 3 to find another potential victim.
An inspection of his suitcase, however, showed several ID cards believed to belong to his previous victims.
One of these was Harija Hamsa who arrived at Naia on Feb. 27 after working as a house helper in Kuwait for three years. While waiting for her flight to General Santos City, she said she was befriended by the suspect.
“He was easy to talk to and I became comfortable with him because he said he was also from General Santos City,” Hamsa narrated.
Manglay claimed he was also an OFW on his way to Saudi Arabia to work as a waiter.
An hour before her flight, Hamsa went to the toilet, with Manglay assuring her that he would watch her baggage.
But when she returned, the suspect was gone, along with her bags that contained around P200,000 worth of cash, jewelry and valuables.