200 bullets seized from Holy Week travelers in airports
Around 200 bullets have so far been confiscated in airports across the country from passengers traveling during Holy Week, according to the Office for Transportation Security (OTS).
OTS Administrator Undersecretary Gilberto Cruz reported this on Wednesday as he conducted a security inspection at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3 on April 1.
According to Cruz, more than 100 of the bullets that were found to be either live or blanks were seized at Naia.
Passengers’ excuse
Cruz said that OTS personnel usually confiscate between 8 and 15 bullets a day at the international gateway, mostly from passengers who believe these were amulets.
“Sometimes they say they didn’t know [about the bullet] because they just borrowed the bag. When we profile them and we learn that what they are saying is the truth, we allow them to get on their flights,” he added.
The OTS official noted that in one of the cases reported this Holy Week, 65 live ammunition in two magazines for M-16 rifles were found in the possession of a woman at the Palawan airport who was flying to Naia.
“Obviously, that’s too heavy for you not to know [about the bullets]. She couldn’t give us an explanation so we turned her over to the Philippine National Police,” Cruz said, adding that the woman is currently facing a case for illegal possession of ammunition.
Cruz also reported that aside from the bullets, the most common prohibited items confiscated by OTS personnel from passengers were knives, scissors, ice picks, other bladed weapons and pointed objects.
