SENATOR Grace Poe grilled airport and immigration personnel found liable for the human smuggling incident at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), saying they should face the consequences of their wrongdoings.

During the Blue Ribbon committee hearing Monday, March 20, 2023, Poe asked about NAIA’s clearance regulations on international flights and the status of the officers who were involved in the incident last February 13, 2023.

Poe was told that under the procedures of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) for special flights, it is the airport operations officers who should clear the flight.

“It’s nothing personal to the officers concerned. We are doing this to also protect the institution that you are supposed to be protecting,” Poe said during the hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on the human smuggling incident at the NAIA involving foreign nationals.

“If nobody’s liable here, kung hindi kayo makakasuhan, mas lalong lalakas ang loob ng iba na gumawa ng mga bagay na hindi nyo dapat gawin,” she said.

MIAA General Manager Cesar Chiong, who was present during the hearing, said an operation officer had signed the clearance for that particular flight but was not present on the site.

He said the officer was among those they are filing charges for violating MIAA procedures.

Poe, in an earlier privilege speech, said a chartered plane left NAIA for Dubai on February 13 without a pre-flight inspection from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and carrying passengers who were not on the manifest.

On her questioning at Monday’s hearing, it was revealed that an immigration officer involved in the incident was relieved from his new post in the BI’s regional intelligence office pending investigation.

Poe said the actions of the concerned officers showed clear violations of the protocols and will not set a good precedent if they remained unacted.

“We expect decisive and correct actions from our airport and immigration chiefs on this matter to show respect for the institutions and to tell the public that irregularities will not go unpunished,” she said.

Poe also said she expects an update on the installation of CCTVs in the airport’s premises, including the area where private chartered flights take off.

Airport authorities said the CCTVs outside the area were not working because they were designed to be solar-powered.

“Going green is important, but the CCTVs have to be operational and effective as well,” Poe said.

Sen. Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa, for his part, urged the need for MIAA to strictly observe existing laws, particularly those involving aviation security, in order to ensure the safety of airports.

Dela Rosa, who is the chairperson of the Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs, revealed that he was informed that members of the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group (PNP-AVSEGROUP) had been barred from entering the airport premises.

The former PNP chief turned senator reminded MIAA that under Sec. 35, Par. 7 of Republic Act (RA) 6975 of the Department of the Interior and Local Government Act of 1990 clearly authorizes the PHP-AVSEGROUP to secure all the country’s airports against offensive and terroristic acts that threaten civil aviation, exercise operational control and supervision over all agencies involved in airport security operations and enforce all laws and regulations relative to air travel protection and safety.

“I would like to remind you about the law and that they (PNP-AVSEGROUP) are in charge of airport security,” Dela Rosa told Chiong.