Ten flight attendants of the Philippine Airlines (PAL) are now in hot water after they allegedly tried to sneak onions and fruits on their way back to the country from a Middle East flight.
In a statement, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said the agricultural products were found inside the luggage of the 10 PAL flight attendants after arriving at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) from Dubai and Riyadh on Jan. 10.
It said the onions and fruits were confiscated after it was found that they have no import permit / clearance from Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI).
The BOC said that pursuant to the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act, importations of plant products are considered “Regulated Importations” which require a prior clearance or permit from the concerned government regulatory agency.
"Further investigation is underway for the charges of Smuggling for violation of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act and Presidential Decree 1433 for Violation of Plant Quarantine Law by Customs and Bureau of Plant Industry against the 10 flight crew of Philippine Airlines," the statement read.
"The flight attendants also exhibited unruly behaviors by stomping/stepping and destroying/crushing the said products without permits in public view upon being informed of their violations ," it added.
The BOC said PAL management was already informed of the incident.
For her part, PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna they have already subjected the 10 flight attendants to investigation.
"Philippine Airlines does not condone any violation of customs regulations. We will impose the appropriate disciplinary sanctions subject to the results of the investigations. We are fully cooperating with the the customs authorities on this matter. We reiterate to all our personnel the need to adhere strictly to customs regulations at all times," Villaluna said.
The incident occurred amid criticisms over the government's alleged lack of control to contain the pricing of onion in the country which reached P720 per kilo last month.
The high price of onion has been the subject of funny memes and jokes on social media.
The Department of Agriculture has admitted that the price of onion has gotten out of control. The department said over 20,000 metric tons of onions will be imported to contain the price of onion.