DOTr sacks 5 airport cops for alleged extortion of Naia cabbies

Transport Secretary Vince Dizon — Photo from Department of Transportation/Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) ordered five airport police officers to be relieved from their posts.

This stemmed from the officers’ alleged involvement in a scheme to extort taxi drivers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), the DOTr said in a statement on Thursday.

“We will have them suspended. Afterward, we will have immediate proceedings for their termination,” DOTr Secretary Vince Dizon said in the statement.

The transportation secretary explained that the directive came after a taxi driver complained that they had been forced to surrender 40 percent of their earnings to airport police with the threat of either arrest or non-entry to Naia.

“This has a big effect on our tourism,” Dizon stressed.

He also ordered the Manila International Airport Authority to investigate the driver’s claim of an extortion scheme.

READ: Dizon: License of cabbie who overcharged Naia passenger to be revoked

This came days after Dizon announced that a taxi driver’s license was suspended for supposedly charging a passenger P1,200 to transfer her from Naia Terminal 3 to Terminal 2. /das