MANILA, Philippines — Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon on Friday lost his temper during a surprise inspection at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 amid mounting controversies over unmaintained security systems and high-profile passenger thefts.
Dizon could not hide his frustration after learning that the transfer of NAIA's closed-circuit television (CCTV) operations from the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) to the New NAIA Infra Corp. (NNIC) has been stalled for nearly two years.
He recalled issuing the order more than a year and half ago before he was moved to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) but the transfer was not completed.
As a result, Dizon gave the MIAA until November to turn over control of the CCTV system to NNIC as he warned that those responsible for further delays would be dismissed.
He expressed frustration over the delay and the finger-pointing among officials instead of taking responsibility for the failure of the CCTV system to clearly capture theft incidents.
“I would be happier, and our countrymen would be happier, if you took responsibility instead of asking me who else you could point to,” Dizon said.
“That is why we are in government — to take responsibility,” he added.
Dizon warned that he would dismiss the officials concerned "if they stil haven't transferred it by then."
Dizon also directed the NNIC to install more CCTV cameras at the airport to improve surveillance and deter theft.
He cited an incident in which a CCTV camera was positioned too far from the area to clearly capture what happened.
Dizon said airports in other countries have cameras installed at nearly every corner, making it more difficult for criminals to operate undetected.
CCTV cameras serve not only as tools for law enforcement but also as a deterrent to crime, he said.
Dizon's inspection came on the heels of a heated Senate Committee on Public Services hearing led by Senator Raffy Tulfo.
Lawmakers called out airport officials after French national Anthony Claude Boukhors lost P18 million worth of luxury watches to a thief at the Terminal 1 Grab pick-up area.
When authorities moved to track the suspect, they found that the entire pick-up zone had ‘zero camera’ coverage due to broken or missing units—prompting Tulfo to give airport officials 48 hours to fix the system.
The systemic failure of the CCTV infrastructure compounds a string of embarrassing thefts at NAIA checkpoints.
In September 2023, an Office for Transportation Security (OTS) personnel was caught attempting to pocket and physically swallow $300 in cash stolen from a Chinese passenger.
There was also an incident wherein security screening officers were caught on camera stealing a luxury watch from a Chinese and extorting yen from a Thai tourist.
Dizon publicly apologized to the victims of these high-value terminal thefts and pushed for systemic reforms, including the immediate handover of backend technology and the elimination of "blind spots"t o protect travelers passing through the country's main gateway.
