FILE PHOTO: Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto. Photo from Senate PRIB
To deter theft, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) should consider requiring airport security personnel to wear body cameras as they give passengers a pat-down or check their luggage.
A lawmaker made the drastic suggestion following recent complaints of theft that again tainted the image of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).
Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto made the call after a Naia security screening officer was arrested for stealing a foreigner’s watch.
READ: NAIA screening officer nabbed for allegedly stealing watch of Chinese traveler
The incident was the second theft to be reported in February, the first involving a female security screening officer who was caught on video taking 20,000 yen in cash from a foreigner.
“The DOTr should consider purchasing body cameras for Office of Transportation Security (OTS) personnel manning the X-ray machines and other airport security checkpoints that put them in close contact with passengers,” Recto said in a statement on Friday.
‘Pickpockets in uniform’
“A body cam protects the checker and the checked,” he said. “This simple device would deter pickpockets in uniform and at the same time ward off rude passengers who harass airport personnel who are just doing their duty.” The Manila International Airport Authority, which operates Naia, has denounced the recent thefts as “unscrupulous, illicit and selfish acts” that “violate the trust and integrity of public servants.” It added that while the personnel involved were OTS employees—not its own—it was still important to have the cases resolved to restore the confidence of airline passengers.
READ: 2 NAIA workers axed for stealing from Thai tourist
No excuse
Recto said the DOTr and the OTS could not cite lack of funds as an excuse, adding:
“(They) cannot plead poverty in not buying body cams, a device even food riders have, made affordable in this age of livestreaming.”
He also noted that each airline passenger is charged an airport security fee of P60 for international flights and P15 for domestic flights—add-ons already included in the fare charged by airline companies.
In 2021, the OTS raised P693 million in collections from airport security and other port usage fees, according to the Batangas congressman.
—JULIE M. AURELIO
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