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| An elderly Pinoy was denied boarding because of the hardly discernible tear in his passport |
The Department of Transportation in the Philippines has ordered an investigation into a rash of complaints from Filipino travellers being denied boarding for overseas travel because of small tears in their passports.
In the latest such incident,
a 71-year-old man was not allowed by Cebu Pacific Airways to board his flight
to Bali, Indonesia, where he was supposed to spend the Easter holiday with his
family, because of a slight tear in the binding of his passport.
The incident which happened
on Apr 15 at terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport was recounted
on Facebook by the passenger’s daughter Diana Natividad.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
But there were similar complaints
earlier from overseas Filipino workers who hinted their passports might have
been deliberately tampered with by airline or airport personnel to prevent them
from boarding their flights. The intention behind this was, however, unclear.
Natividad said that in her
father’s case, it was “power tripping” by a check-in staff of Cebu Pacific, who
reportedly said a photo of the torn passport had been forwarded to Bali airport
authorities, and they were the ones who said the passenger would not be allowed
entry.
Acting on the complaints
Transport Secretary Vince Dizon said at a press conference on Saturday, Apr 26,
that the DOTr and the Civil Aeronautics Board were already conducting an
investigation.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
Dizon said the inquiry will
include a check with Bali airport authorities on whether it was true that they
were the ones who told Cebu Pacific to deny boarding to the elderly passenger
because he would not be allowed entry to the Indonesian island with his torn
passport.
He also said the DOTr has
summoned Cebu Pacific - along with other international carriers - to ensure
that they strictly verify the condition of the passenger’s passport.
In an statement published
earlier, the DOTr called on all airlines operating in the Philippines to ensure
their staff do not abuse their authority when checking the validity and
integrity of passengers’ passports.
In line with established protocols,
airlines must coordinate with immigration authorities of the passenger’s
destination country to verity if they will accept a passport that appears to be
tampered or damaged.
In the Philippines, the
Department of Foreign Affairs has stated in published advisories that under the
country’s laws, a passport is considered damaged for travel purposes if its
physical condition is altered due to wear and tear, aging, negligence, or other
factors that render it mutilated or defective.
For the passport to be deemed
mutilated, its data page must have become unreadable or an information is
missing.
This could be due to the
passport chip being damaged or has become unreadable to the system, a page is
torn out, the passport’s binding has unraveled, or the document is water-damaged,
causing the visa stamps and printed information to run.
Nowhere is it stated in the
advisory that a slight tear in the passport which does not make the information
therein unreadable, considered damaged for travel purposes.
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| A passenger claims this tear in her passport appeared only after she handed it in for check-in |
Dizon also said the investigation
will look into allegations of deliberate tampering of passports by airline
personnel, for whatever purpose it may serve them.
“So they were told very, very clearly that
they need to comply with that clear instruction, no way whatsoever to cause any
harm to the documents or tamper with the documents of the passengers in the
exercise of their function,” he said.
Dizon said the government agencies
will look at CCTV footage and personal accounts of travellers to determine if the
alleged deliberate tampering of passports did occur.
“Kasi
kung meron tayong makitang gano'n and nahuli natin ang any airline personnel na
may ginawa itong kalokohan na ganito, well, you know, sorry na lang,
sanctions will be imposed on both the personnel and the airlines,” he said.
Among those who hinted at
deliberate tampering by airport personnel was a female tourist bound for Hong
Kong who said staff processing her travel tax payment pointed out to a tear in
her passport, saying she and her husband may not be allowed to board their
flight.
The passenger said she was
shocked to see the small tear in the photo page of her passport as she had
travelled just three days earlier, and she had checked their travel documents
the night before, and was sure the tear was not there before she presented it
to pay for travel tax.
Despite the warning, the
passenger said she and her husband decided not to say anything about it when
they checked in, and were relieved when staff at the counter made no mention
about it, either.
