MIAA not ruling out possible involvement of employees in issuing fake access pass at NAIA

The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said Thursday it is not dismissing the possible involvement of its personnel in the issuance of fake exit passes at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to facilitate the departure of trafficked individuals.

MIAA senior assistant general manager Bryan Co made the remark when asked for a comment regarding the statement of Senator Raffy Tulfo that the MIAA should be questioned as the ID pass provided to a human trafficking victim was issued by them.

The lawmaker alleged that there was a syndicate accomplice inside the agency

“First and foremost, hindi naman natin maru-rule out na meron tayong posibleng mga iba-ibang elements na gumagalaw dito sa loob ng ating mga airport na posibleng kasabwat. While we’re not ruling that out, of course, we’re undergoing all of the investigation and intelligence buildup upang ma-resolve natin itong mga problema na ating hinaharap,” Co said in an interview on Unang Balita.

(First and foremost, we cannot rule out that we have possible various elements moving within our airports who may be accomplices. While we're not ruling that out, of course, we're undergoing all of the investigation and intelligence buildup so that we can resolve these problems that we face.)

On Wednesday, the MIAA said it launched an investigation into the matter following a hearing of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality wherein a human trafficking victim revealed that someone at the airport would escort them and expedite their departure using fake exit stamps to bypass the Bureau of Immigration.

The victim, under a pseudonym “Paolo,” said he thought he had been recruited to work as a customer service representative in Thailand but found out he was going to be sent to work as a scammer in Myanmar.

Co said they already have persons of interest whom they are looking at to determine how such a scheme operates.

“Ang mga ito ay kasalukuyan naming iniimbestigahan at meron tayong persons of interest and of course we are sharing all of this information to different agencies para talagang we get to the root cause of the problem at mahanap natin ang posibleng sindikato na nagpapatakbo nito,” he added.

(We are currently investigating them and we have persons of interest already. We are sharing all of this information to different agencies so that we can really get to the root cause of the problem and find the possible syndicate that is running it.)

As part of the MIAA’s solution, Co said that they will issue new ID passes to their employees by early next year.

“The more permanent solution talaga namin is even before all of these happened, because of the rampant incidents in the past, meron tayong ginagawa na RFID project para ‘yung mga IDs natin instead printed, would become…proximity or tap cards,” he said.

He also said that the MIAA will transfer the screening lane of their employees from the NAIA Terminal 3 to another location where they could be scrutinized more.

Co recalled the four separate occasions wherein airport authority thwarted attempts of four passengers posing as employees of an airport concessionaire to leave the country bypassing immigration formalities at the NAIA Terminal 3.

Meanwhile, the Immigration Bureau also believes the individuals or syndicate behind the alleged use of fake passes may be in cahoots with airport personnel.

According to Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval, the supposed syndicate seems to know the “weak spots” of the airport and is abusing these.

“Sa tingin po natin maaari pong meron itong connivance sa isang personnel sa loob ng airport…. although mahirap po matukoy dahil iba’t iba po ang mga ahensya sa loob ng airport,” Sandoval told Super Radyo dzBB.

(We think there is a connivance with personnel inside the airport… although they will be challenging to identify as there are different agencies inside the airport.)

“There are government entities, there are private entities. But we think there might be a connivance sa isang ahensya na nasa loob ng airport,” she added.

(There are government agencies and there are private entities. But we think there might be a connivance with one of the agencies inside the airport.)

In the same interview, Sandoval said that though they have yet to find links tying BI personnel to the issue, they are open to an investigation.

“So far, wala pa rin po tayong nakikitang links, but open po tayo sa investigation. Nakikipag ugnayan rin po tayo sa opisina ni Senator Hontiveros,” the spokesman said.

According to Sandoval, Commissioner Norman Tansingco will not hesitate to impose the appropriate sanctions on employees that may be involved in such activities. —KBK/RSJ, GMA Integrated News