Major airports in the country are considered “high-profile but soft targets” for lawless, or even terror, groups, and are, therefore, given top priority by the government when it comes to providing security.
The security umbrella comes in many guises because airports are complex in nature, both in infrastructure and human activities, associated with its myriad functions.
Thus, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), contained within a roughly 100-hectare area in Parañaque, has the security umbrella, not only against terror groups, but also against various forms of illegal activities. These could take the forms of smuggling and other forms of mayhem that could deface an otherwise agreeable image of an airport, which is now considered a major engine of the country’s economic growth.
High alert
“The Miaa [Manila International Airport Authority] security remains on high alert, practically most of the time [these days],” Miaa General Manager Ed Monreal said, stressing that officials of airport’s security and emergency services no longer leave their offices, but have permanent accommodations at the Naia.
“It is more practical for them to remain within the Miaa compound so that they will all be available when potential or actual crisis occurs,” he said.
Col. Arnulfo B. Junio, manager of Naia’s Intelligence and Access Management Department (AMD), told the BusinessMirror in an interview that the complex security umbrella, aside from his office, likewise include other intelligence units in the government, among which are the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Office of Transportation Security (OTS), the National the Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Immigration and other key stakeholders.
“We continuously monitor the whole Naia complex and gather significant information to proactively address the current and future security concerns of the Naia,” Junio said. “The Miaa, through my office, strengthens its relationship with other units for the sharing of information and better coordination and collaboration,” he added.
Profiling
Among the daily concerns, Junio said, is the continuous profiling of passengers and visitors who are coming in and out of the airport.
The Naia, through its four passenger terminals, averages about 50,000 passengers daily.
The number of visitors welcoming or sending off relatives vary, but they are in the thousands daily, as well, according to Connie Bungag, head of Miaa’s Public Affairs Office. She said the airport’s Media Affairs Department (MAD) issues identification cards for those who want to send off or welcome relatives and loved ones.
“On the average, MAD dispenses 20,000 monthly ID passes, 15,000 semi-annually and 6,000 for daily workers. Visitors’ pass averages 1,000 per day,” Bungag said. All of the Naia’s four terminals, she added, require visitors ID to gain entry in these terminals.
Tags
Junio, likewise, said the Office of the Assistant General Manager for Security and Emergency Services (OAGMSES), composed of Airport Police Department, Intelligence and Access Management Department, Screening and Surveillance Department and Emergency Services Department, is enforcing stricter security measures, foremost of which are:
- Strict implementation of access control measures for both personnel and vehicles, continuous conduct of landside and air-side checkpoints and intensified intelligence and information gathering in coordination and collaboration with other intelligence agencies. Access passes are being issued to all employees. It is mandatory for them to undergo a security awareness seminar prior to the issuance of an access pass.
- New applicants are now required to submit documentary requirements screened and processed thoroughly the airport’s Intelligence and Investigation Division and conduct background checks on these as part of the proactive security measures.
- The drivers of all vehicles entering the Naia, for their part, have to undergo the aircraft movement area seminar (AMA) prior to the issuance of an AMA driver’s permit. The task of vetting these drivers is handled by the Office of the Assistant General Manager for Operation.
The AMA sticker and vehicle accessories, such as beacon light, are also required for every vehicle, while, on the opposite landside, there’s continuous checkpoints based on the level of alert status.
The Miaa, in coordination with the OTS, has contracted the services of security guards and K9 units. These units will continuously conduct inspections of vehicles at the designated security checkpoints, Junio said.
More CCTVs
To avoid the international scandal that plagues the OTS during the last administration, where the tanim-bala, or bullet-planting scheme, scandalized the nation, Junio said OTS screeners have undergone regular training.
“There is now regular inspection of the security screening officers and x-ray equipment to ensure their operational effectiveness,” he added.
Aware that terrorists or other lawless elements always come up with sophisticated ways to evade the security apparatus, Junio said future projects include the installations of more CCTVs to cover passengers who may want to sleep inside the terminals. “The airport usually discourages passengers to sleep because they are prone to being victimized with their personal belongings, not by insiders but sometimes, fellow passengers themselves,” Junio said.
He said once this new CCTV system is in place, the airport management could deploy reclining seats in strategic areas so they could sleep soundly without fear of being victimized.
Aside from the activation CCTVs, a radio-frequency identification will also be installed as part of the improvement of access management, additional security personnel, K9 teams and other security initiatives that will further improve the security capability of the Miaa.
“There would be recurrent training of all APD personnel and in-house training of all OAGMSES personnel, a review and revision of airport security program, continuous conduct of background investigation of personnel and employees and continuous conduct of security survey and inspection.
PAL’s support
The Naia is not alone in tightening security concerns. Legacy carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL), as one of the airport stakeholders, has joined the effort in security preparation. Last week the flag carrier also conducted dry-runs in preparation for the execution of heightened security measures for all of its 41 US-bound flights by way of additional and expanded check-in procedures.
To undergo heightened security measures are flights from Manila to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Honolulu and Guam. The exception is PAL’s flights from Manila via Vancouver to New York, which is conducted four times weekly.
PAL said the dry-run will simulate time and motion experience. All PAL US-bound passengers have been advised to expect a slightly different check-in setup, and to arrive at the airport at least three to four hours before flight departure.
The enhanced security measures, which has been under testing since July 19, include the installation of an explosive trace-detection device on large portable electronic devices.
There are more than 2,000 flights by 180 air carriers coming to the US daily from abroad, including the Philippines. These flights carry about 325,000 passengers.
X-ray screening
On the other hand, the Bureau of Customs airport branch has installed the device, called Rapiscan x-ray machine that can provide a three-dimensional view of pieces of luggage inside boxes or suitcases by subjecting these to an x-ray scan from top to bottom and from the sides.
Previous x-ray machines at the Naia could only show a one-dimensional view of items inside the luggage.
Customs Commissioner Isidro S. Lapeña said the previous x-ray machines will only show a one-dimensional view of hot items, like a horizontal line presenting the side of a gun lying on its side, while the Rapiscan scanner can show the hot item from the side and from the top or bottom. A total of 19 units costing P172 million would be assigned to the Naia passenger terminals.