Another bullet carrier caught—but later freed

Despite the “tanim-bala” (bullet-planting) controversy making news for the past several weeks, another outbound passenger was caught with three bullets in her bag at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia).

However, the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) on Thursday said Lilly Chung, 61, was eventually released for “lack of criminal intent.”

PAO chief Persida Acosta said Chung was detained for illegal possession of ammunition on Tuesday for the bullets found in her luggage at Naia. She was ordered released the same day by the Department of Justice prosecutor posted at the airport and was allowed to board her flight.

“She was carrying the bullets as amulets; she got [them] from a Buddhist monk,” Acosta told reporters. The PAO chief declined to provide other details about the passenger.

The prosecutor ordered Chung’s release after inquest proceedings showed that she did not have any intent to use the bullets to commit a crime, Acosta added.

The incident took place as airport authorities stepped up security with the arrival of world leaders and international delegations for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in Manila.

The PAO has so far extended legal assistance to 28 individuals found carrying bullets in their bags at Naia, some of whom claimed that the rounds were planted by airport security screeners as part of an extortion racket, now called tanim-bala by the media.

Acosta said the complaints against 17 passengers who sought PAO’s help had been dismissed by the inquest prosecutor. Eleven more have pending motions in the Pasay City prosecutor’s office to have their cases dismissed.

The PAO has opened five more hotline numbers, in addition to 9299436, for tanim-bala victims: 4262075, 4262801, 4262450, 4262987 and 4262683.