The notorious alleged bullet-planting scheme at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) has not been completely eliminated yet, but it looks like we are making progress.
Or are we, really?
From three ammunition-carrying passengers a day, interceptions at the country’s premiere airport has been reduced to once a week, Philippine Daily Inquirer reports.
What caused the big drop? Aviation Security Group (Avsegroup) director Chief Supt. Pablo Francisco Balagtas said that travelers started using the last-check booths located outside the entrances of the four NAIA terminals.
The curtained booths were initially put up at the NAIA in Nov 24 last year, but few took notice — perhaps because they resembled “church confessionals or dressing rooms.”
“We asked the OTS (Office for Transportation Security), particularly those manning the initial security screening checkpoints at the departure areas of the terminals, to remind the passengers to avail of the last-check booth and dispose of prohibited items they might have in their baggage,” the Avsegroup chief said.
In the last-check booth, passengers receive gentle reminders about carrying banned items like bullets, oil in vials, antler fragments, and animal fangs.
So, in addition to the checkpoints at the building entrance and pre-departure area, passengers have the option to pass by the last-check booth first.
That’s a grand total of three checkpoints before boarding their planes. Is this process the best long-term solution?
