Told to Remove Stuff from Overweight Luggage, Saudi-bound Passenger Cracks ‘Bomb Joke,’ is Held
By: Eric B. Apolonio, InterAksyon.com
August 9, 2015 7:51 PM
File photo of the PAL check-in counter at the NAIA. A PAL passenger on a plane bound for Riyadh was asked to remove stuff from an overweight luggage, and cracked a joke about a “bomb” in her bag that “could blow up a plane.” She was arrested and faces charges. INTERAKSYON.COM FILE
MANILA – A Saudi-bound passenger, instructed by airline personnel to remove some of her stuff from an overweight luggage, cracked a joke about a “bomb” in her bag that she said could blow up a plane, and was promptly arrested by security officers who heard her.
Now, 50-year-old Daisy Medallon David has not only been kept from visiting her husband who works in the Kingdom; she faces charges of violating PD 1727 prohibiting such “bomb jokes” and could be meted out a jail term or a huge fine.
David was at the pre-departure area of NAIA Terminal 2 Saturday, lining up for a Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight to Riyadh, when she told security personnel jokingly that “may sasabog sa bagahe ko” [there’s something in my luggage that will explode] while she was being asked by airline personnel to remove some belongings from her baggage, as it was overweight.
David was also accused of uttering, “may sasabog sa bagahe ko, pati eroplano niyo sasabog” (There’s a bomb in my bag, even your airplane could blow up).”
Aviation police reports said that David, when asked, quickly removed some of her belongings including a box, but blurted out that it had explosives inside.
Police National Police-Aviation Security Group head, Chief Supt. Pablo Francisco Balagtas, said David was supposed to board PAL flight PR654 on Saturday to visit her husband in Saudi Arabia.
Making any threat concerning bombs, explosives or any similar device or means of destruction is a violation of PD 1727, Aviation police said. If convicted, a violator could be meted out a five-year jail term, or not more than P40,000 in fines, or both.