Officials from the Philippine Department of Transportation are under intense scrutiny this week after an Office for Transportation Safety (OTS) screening officer was caught on airport camera allegedly stealing and swallowing dollar bills.
Local media reported that the incident happened on September 8, when a checkpoint supervisor reported that a passenger lost $300 worth of cash at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Since then, the OTS has investigated not only the screener who allegedly swallowed the missing cash but also three of her accomplices.
"There are four screening officers now being investigated, and (it) possibly has something to do with the incident," OTS administrator Ma. O Aplasca told Filipino broadcaster ABS-CBN Friday (September 22).
Screener in Question Denies She Swallowed the Cash
Since the incident, the Philippine Star reported that the screener who allegedly swallowed the cash has filed a counter-affidavit claiming that she was putting chocolate in her mouth and not the missing cash despite evidence proving otherwise.
An OTS source also told the Star on the condition of anonymity that the way the screener pushed food into one's throat and taking a swig of water was not the normal way of eating chocolate.
"Based on the evidence gathered by our investigators, I think we have evidence to charge her and her accomplices," Alpasca also said, further adding that Philippine Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista already ordered the OTS to file administrative and criminal charges against the screener.
He added that the recent incident was already the fifth recorded incident of theft in the airport and the first-ever instance where an officer resorted to swallowing stolen cash.
To prevent further incidents from happening in the future, Alpasca stated that the OTS already initiated several initiatives, including the removal of pockets from employees' uniforms, banning them from wearing jackets, revamping assignments, and placing additional security cameras near checkpoints.
