Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 27) — The Office for Transportation Security (OTS) confirmed on Monday that its personnel assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 were preventively suspended after a video of extortion surfaced online.
The video posted on Facebook on Feb. 22 purportedly shows a departing Thai national requesting a female security screening officer to return the money she took from him. The staff was later seen handing the tourist the money, which OTS said amounted to 20,000 yen or roughly 8,000, and begging the person taking the clip to delete the video.
In another video, the female staff can be seen putting something in the pocket of a male personnel who was manning the X-ray machine.
OTS said administrative charges are being prepared against the workers, but it is also looking to file criminal charges against the erring personnel.
It, however, did not state how many employees will be punished.
“We will seek the cooperation of the victimized foreign nationals to expedite the filing of an airtight case. These illegal acts will not be tolerated and we will apply the full force of the law to penalize the perpetrators. They shall not only be dismissed from the service but shall also be put behind bars for their criminal acts,” it said in a statement.
