In a phone interview with GMA News Online on Wednesday, Civil Security Officer Luis Cometa of the NAIA Terminal Police Division said airport security personnel were alerted at around 9:45 p.m. Monday about a man seen standing near a Kuwaiti Airlines plane parked at Bay 4.
Airport security officials apprehended the man, identified as Marcelo Maligalig, a resident of Taguig City. Initial investigation showed that he was a mental patient who has been repeatedly confined at the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) in Mandaluyong City.
“Hindi naman siya nag-cause ng disruption sa airport o naging threat sa mga pasahero. Nakalapit lang siya sa aircraft,” Cometa said of Maligalig.
Maligalig, who was carrying several identification cards bearing his name, was eventually turned over to his sister, policewoman Christine Maligalig of Southern Police District.
NAIA reportedly has no CCTV cameras around the perimeter fence where Maligalig climbed. But an airport official speaking on condition of anonymity said there are CCTV cameras installed in the area but the incident was not recorded because the area was too dark.
General Jesus Gordon Descanzo, manager of the airport police department, also said there are CCTV cameras installed at Terminal 1, although he was uncertain if they are still working.
“Hindi ko alam kung gumagana pa yung nakakabit doon dahil subject for rehabilitation na yung Terminal 1,” he said.
The incident occurred just 10 days after Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur Mayor Ukol Talumpa was assassinated at the premises of the NAIA Terminal 3 in broad daylight.
After the December 20 shooting incident that killed Talumpa and three others, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Jose Angel Honrado admitted that a CCTV camera installed near the area was not working.
He said security cameras have yet to be installed near the airport’s loading bay, which he described as a “public” and “non-restricted” area. — KBK, GMA News
