President Benigno Aquino III is not giving in to calls for him to fire Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Jose Angel Honrado, who has been under fire over the alleged “tanim bala” racket at the country’s airports.
At a press briefing Monday, November 2, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the President would want to validate all the details regarding supposed extortion scheme.
“Let’s identify the problem correctly so that we can identify the solutions also correctly. That’s the basic premise and the basic dictum guidance of the President,” the Palace official said.
Aquino met with Honrado on Monday along with officials of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and Philippine National Police (PNP) in Malacañang.
Lacierda said the Chief Executive ordered the DOTC to lead the investigation into the problem and inform the public about the situation at NAIA as soon as possible.
“The President ordered them to cast a wide net on the data, on the process and areas for improvements,” he said.
He noted that DOTC is expected to come up with the result of the investigation next week.
Several lawmakers were asking Aquino to sack Honrado following reports of some travelers and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) victimized by the supposed planting of bullets scheme.
But Lacierda said the government should need to investigate all the cases first since some of the incidents were legitimate like the case of a Japanese tourist who admitted that he deliberately brought ammunition at the airport.
“We have to look at all the assumptions na nilalabas ng media,” he said.
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