A security officer at a Philippines airport was caught allegedly shoving $300 in bills into her mouth after snatching the dough from a tourist.
Officials launched an investigation after video footage of the money-hungry grab circulated on social media allegedly showing a staffer swallowing a wad of cash in Terminal 1 at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Sept. 8.
In the video, the worker is seen putting items in her mouth while holding a bottle of water to wash it all down.
The officer hasn’t been publicly identified, nor has it been confirmed she was devouring money, News5 reported.
When confronted, the staffer denied stealing cash from a passenger and claimed she was merely munching on chocolate, Ma. O. Aplasca, the administrator for the Office for Transportation Security, told CNN.
A security officer in a Philippines airport was caught shoving bills amounting to $300 in her mouth. Twitter/raoulesperas
The worker allegedly stole the cash from a tourist at the airport. Twitter/raoulesperas“That’s not the normal way to eat chocolate, and she kept poking her mouth,” Aplasca said, adding the worker has been an employee for seven years and earns a monthly salary equivalent to $281.
In a statement on social media Monday, the OTS said the security officer has since been identified and the investigation is continuing.
“Upon receipt of the information about the recent allegations of theft involving a Security Screening Officer (SSO) at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1, where a cash amounting to three hundred (300) US dollars went missing, the Office for Transportation Security (OTS) took actions to validate the information and launch its fact-finding investigation,” the agency wrote on Facebook.
The staffer denied that she stole cash from a passenger and claimed she was eating chocolate instead. Twitter/raoulesperas
The staffer has since been suspended, according to officials. Twitter/raoulesperasThe OTS also said it’s working on the case with the Manila International Airport Authority and Philippine National Police Aviation Security.
“The actions described is obviously not reflective of the code of conduct for civil servants, much more of the core values that majority of our personnel upholds,” the agency’s statement said.
The officer has been suspended, Aplasca told CNN.
The alleged ordeal took place in Terminal 1 at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Sept. 8. REUTERSBut the OTS is pursuing an “administrative case” against the staffer and is looking to file a criminal case against her, Aplasca added.
After the alleged theft was reported to authorities, the airport said it took a series of preventive measures, and that pockets have since been removed from security officers’ uniforms.
The Post has reached out to the Manila International Airport Authority for comment.
