“There have been reports [about that] so that is being looked into as well,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda told reporters in a media briefing.
At a press conference on Monday in Camp Crame, no less than Supt. Jeanne Panisan of the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group (PNP AvSec) said passengers sometimes carry bullets as amulets.
"With all due respect po sa mga kababayan natin, malalim po talaga iyung paniniwala natin sa amulet, sa agimat," Panisan told reporters.
On Oct. 7, a report by GMA News' Oscar Oida showed that a woman identified only as "Donna" was caught at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 with a 9mm bullet inside her bag. She said she was just sending off her sibling when caught.
"Kasi po lagi akong nagkakasakit ... sabi po sa akin, maganda raw po iyon sa mga bad spirit," she said, adding that she always carries her "amulet" with her.
Thorough probe
On Monday, President Benigno Aquino III tasked the DOTC to conduct a thorough investigation on the 'laglag-bala" scheme, wherein bullets are allegedly planted in the luggages of travelers passing through NAIA.
Lacierda said the DOTC will present to the public this week the measures to be implemented aimed primarily to ensure the safety and security of passengers.
“Some of the measures are being done already, for instance, we are installing --- as Secretary Jun Abaya has mentioned that we are already installing additional CCTVs in those areas,” Lacierda added.
“Like I said yesterday, the correct identification of the problem leads to the correct identification of the solution. It's an approach where we need to look at everything and I understand that there are concerns to immediately act on certain things,” the spokesperson added.
On ‘laglag boto’
Meanwhile, Lacierda appealed not to politicize the laglag-bala controversy.
“Let's set aside any political color and we will look into the data as objectively as we can. We just want to make sure that we presented the entire picture properly,” he said.
He likewise assured overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) that the government is doing everything to resolve the issue amid the supposed “laglag-boto” threat from migrant workers group Migrante.
“It’s a free country...We hope the DOTC will be able to convince our countrymen of the measures being undertaken. It’s not true that we’re not doing anything about this,” said Lacierda. — RSJ, GMA News
source: gmanetwork.com
