Senator Grace Poe answers reporters’ queries in a media interview at the Senate in Pasay City on Monday, February 27, 2023. (Photo by Daniza Fernandez / INQUIRER.net)
MANILA, Philippines — Airport personnel should have better compensation to keep them from straying into illegal activities, Senator Grace Poe said on Monday.
She made the remark after an Office for Transportation Security (OTS) worker extorted a foreign national at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2. The involved employee has since been suspended.
While Poe believes there should be a harsher consequence, she pities a person losing a job.
“Walang excuse sa paggawa ng isang bagay na iligal kahit nangangailangan ka. Pero ang totoo nu’n, ‘pag sobrang gipit ka dahil hindi ka binibigyan ng tamang sweldo ay mas lalo kang mae-enganyo gumawa ng mga ganitong kalokohan,” the senator said in an interview at the Senate.
(There is no excuse for doing an illegal act even if you badly need money. But the reality is if you are in dire need because you do not have enough pay, you will be tempted to do illegal activities.)
“Siguro dapat ’yung mga personnel natin sa airport, tama at maayos ang kompensasyon para ‘yung trabaho nila ay maayos din… I think it’s a deeper social issue,” the Senate committee on public services chairperson added.
(Maybe our airport personnel should have better compensation, so they will also do a good job.)
Poe also said that there should be high-resolution closed-circuit television cameras in airports.
A video circulating on social media showed that a foreign national requested the security screening officer return the money taken from him, which is ¥20,000 or equivalent to P8,000. However, it was seen that the money was returned to the passenger.
OTS investigators are preparing to lodge administrative cases against the erring employee.