Atin Ito First Filipino Community Newspaper in Ontario
The Department of Transporation (DOTr) pointed out on Tuesday, Sept. 26 the need to give better pay and regularize the Security Screening Officers (SSOs) of the Office for Transportation Security (OTS) following the alleged theft incident at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1.
Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista raised the point during deliberations of the Senate finance subcommittee chaired by Sen. Grace Poe for DOTr’s P213.7 billion budget.
Before this, Sen. Win Gatchalian asked how this could be solved and whether this was an issue of salary or quality adding that they thought that various schemes had already been taken care of during the previous administration.
“The OTS is supposed to protect us from criminals, terrorists, possible flight accidents. But these people hired to protect us are the ones creating chaos and also national embarrassment to the country,” Gatchalian said.
Bautista disclosed that most of the SSOs are contract of service (COS) workers with low pay. According to OTS Deputy Administrator III Jose A. Briones Jr., an average SSO earns P16,000 a month.
However, Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa believes that this is not the right solution to the issue. He even compared this to the high salary given to police officers during his time yet many were still involved in illegal drugs.
For the senator, he thinks that proper vetting is still the way to go and that even with a low pay, a lot will still be applying for the position.
For the part of DOTr, Bautista said that they vet the qualifications of the people they hire but unfortunately, there are some bad eggs.
“I really think we need to hire the right people. We need to give them the right training,” he added.
In the statement of OTS Administrator Undersecretary Ma. O Aplasca, he said that he’s taking full responsibility for “what OTS does and fails to do so” and that he will be discussing the matter with Bautista and President Marcos.
Poe said that there’s always command responsibility and Aplasca is setting an example as he is voluntarily taking a leave while an investigation is ongoing.
“It’s good that you continued the investigation so we know who really is involved…Some of these employees have been there years ago and this individual has been there since 2016,” she added.
On Sept. 19, an official report released by airport authorities showed CCTV footage of a female SSO caught trying to put some folded bills amounting to $300 into her mouth in an apparent attempt to hide what she had allegedly filched from the wallet of a departing Chinese passenger. — Dhel Nazario
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Credit belongs to: www.mb.com.ph
