Hontiveros lauds MIAA move to retain CCTV footage for 90 days
Published Apr 28, 2023 05:02 am
Senator Risa Hontiveros on Friday, April 28 welcomed the Manila International Airport Authority’s (MIAA) decision to extend the retention period of close-circuit television (CCTV) footage at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to 90 days from the current 30 days.
“It’s about time the Manila International Airport Authority took this necessary action. Buti naman at inaksyunan agad ito (It’s a good thing they immediately took action),” Hontiveros said in a statement.
The senator recalled this was one of the problems raised during the Senate Committee on Women and Children’s hearing on human trafficking.
“We found out that our airport CCTVs didn’t have enough storage to retain footage that would have been critical to our investigation,” the lawmaker said.
According to Hontiveros, her office just recently learned directly from an Indonesian victiim that he and other Indonesians were tricked into entering the country to scam.
She said the witness revealed that he, along with two other Indonesians, was escorted by someone who had access all around the airport.
“Tinulungan pa silang madaling makalagpas sa (They were even assisted to go pass the) immigration counter,” she said.
“His testimony could have easily been corroborated, and we would have been closer to exacting accountability, only if we had the CCTV footage available,” she pointed out.
Hontiveros reiterated that knowing exactly who goes in and out of the country’s borders is an essential part of national security.
“Ngayon, biktima ng human trafficking ang pinapapasok, baka bukas terorista na (Now, victims of human trafficking are able to enter, tomorrow it could terrorists),” she warned.