The shooting incident at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport where an 18-month-old child from Bacolod was killed together with three others, has opened the eyes of the government to the security deficiencies in the area.

This was the statement of Bacolod Congressman Evelio Leonardia after the congressional inquiry on that incident, over which he presided as senior vice chairman of the Congressional Committee on Transportation.

“There is a need to integrate security operations at the NAIA to make it seamless”, Leonardia said, adding that the rest of the country’s airports should also be looked into to see if they also need the same streamlining.

Four lives were lost in the NAIA shooting incident on Dec. 20 last year. Phille Thomas Estoesta, 18 months old, was killed when a stray bullet pierced his head. His family was waiting at the arrival area of the terminal when two motorcycle-riding gunmen shot Labanga, Zamboanga del Sur, Mayor Ukol Talumpa, his wife, Lea, and their nephew Salipudin Talumpa.

The mother of Phille, Marie Ann Lirazan, his grandmother Amalia Lirazan and cousin Dhianne Philippe Uy, were also hit by stray bullets.

At the hearing, Leonardia said it was confirmed that there are four security groups operating at the airport.

“This is unwieldy, and their parameters sometimes get blurred”, he said. He identified the groups as the Philippine National Police, the Airport Police Department, the Office of Transportation Security, and the Blue Guards.

“As I had promised the people of Bacolod, I am taking an active role in this inquiry as my humble way of giving justice to baby Phille who lost his life at a very young age, and the other members of his family who were injured,” he said.

Leonardia also said they will invite the families of the victims who can shed light on the incident, to the next hearing. This will include Felipe Lirazan a relative of the victims, who is also from Bacolod and who had gone to the airport to pick up his kin then.

Present at the Congressional hearing were NAIA General Manager Gen. Angel Honrado, P/Supt. Chris Laxa, Aviation Security Group, Commodore Roland Recomon, OTS Director, Police Director Carmelo Espino Valmoria and about 30 of their junior officers.*

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