Another scandal rocks Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport, after a viral video revealed staff members of the Office for Transportation Security (OTS) allegedly extorting money from a Thai tourist.
The Thai national Piyawat Gunlayaprasit posted two videos on his Facebook account, which reportedly depicted the incident at a security screening checkpoint in Terminal 2.
The first video showed two personnel members “caught in the act,” when one of them inserted an object into a jacket of their fellow staff, which, according to Piyawat’s caption, was allegedly cash taken from another tourist named Kitja Thabthim.
On the other hand, the second video revealed Kitja requesting the security screening officer to return the cash amounting to ¥20,000 (approx. P8000). The personnel was seen handing back the money in a less crowded section of the airport, while staff members around them prodded the Thai tourist to “delete the video.”
Following the video surfacing online, the OTS released an official statement saying that the five members involved in the incident were relieved from duty and placed under preventive suspension. The post also revealed that it plans to file administrative and criminal cases against the personnel.
“Our government has been trying to invite tourists and investors to come to the Philippines to pump prime the economy. But these corrupt OTS personnel are undermining and negating the gains of our efforts,” the statement reads. “This corrupt and illegal acts shall not be tolerated to send a strong message that we are serious in cleansing our ranks.”
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