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Siniguro ng Department of Transportation (DOTr) at Office of the Transportation Security (OTS) na maghihigpit pa upang bigyang proteksyon ang mga pasahero mula sa mga tiwaling tauhan sa paliparan.

Kasunod ito ng pulong na ipinatawag ni House Speaker Martin Romualdez kasama sina DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista, OTS Administrator Undersecretary Ma. O Ranada Aplasca, at Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Cesar Chiong, dahil sa insidente ng pagnanakaw sa isang Thai tourist.

Bilang dagdag na safeguard, napagkasunduan sa pulong na sasamahan ng piling miyembro ng Philippine Coast Guard ang airport screening personnel.

Ang OTS, inaaral na ang pagpapasuot ng body camera sa may 1,200 OTS personnel na nagtatrabaho ng tatlong shift o katumbas ng 500 piraso ng body camera.

Una na ring inanunsiyo ng OTS ang pagbabalik ng ‘no-pocket uniforms policy’, at pagbabawal sa pagbibitbit ng cellphone, bag at jacket sa kanilang mga tauhan habang naka-duty.

Bukod pa dito, ang posibleng pagdaragdag ng e-gates upang mabawasan ang interaction sa pagitan ng personnel at ng turista o pasahero.

“I hope this would somehow cushion any backlash from that embarrassing incident, and that tourists will still choose to visit the Philippines and not be discouraged by the act of erring personnel. We will monitor closely the corrective actions of the DOTr and the OTS to ensure all travelers in and out of our country get the honest and efficient service that they deserve.” ani Romualdez

Inaasahan na isusumite ng ahensya sa Kongreso ang kabuuan ng panukalang ipatutupad, para hindi na maulit ang nangyaring pagnanakaw sa mga turista.

Paalala ng House leader, hindi na maaaring maulit pa ang naturang insidente na hahadlang sa mga turista na bumisita sa Pilpinas.

“We cannot let this embarrassing incident fester and continue to discourage tourists from visiting our very beautiful country. But the OTS has recognized that there is indeed a problem and that it needs to be addressed at the soonest possible time. The OTS also agreed to punish erring personnel and to put in place appropriate measures to stop and discourage illegal behavior of their staff. They recognized its existence and they decided to do something about it,” diin ng House leader. | ulat ni Kathleen Forbes