An elderly woman failed to board her flight after ammunition was discovered in her baggage at Puerto Princesa International Airport on March 31.
Police said the passenger, identified as alias Maria, 67, and a resident of Barangay Sicsican, was about to take a flight to Zamboanga with a connecting trip via Cebu when airport screening flagged her bag.
Police Col. Jun Dexter Danao, head of the PNP Aviation Security Unit 4, said the x-ray operator detected a suspicious image resembling ammunition.
“So nung in-inspect nila yun, nakita nga ang bala na nakalagay doon sa magazines. Nung binilang lahat, itong bala ay umabot ng 65 pieces,” Danao said.
Authorities recovered two M-16 rifle magazines and 65 rounds of 5.56 mm ammunition from the bag.
Danao reminded travelers that ammunition and similar items are prohibited in cabin baggage and must be properly checked before travel.
“So yan po is bawal ipasok sa ating cabin. So the best thing is kung tayo ay maglilipad… ikaw na mismo ang mag-repack para alam mo na hindi mo nadala yung mga bagay na gano’n,” he said.
The woman, was placed under the custody of the Puerto Princesa Airport Police Station yesterday while documents are being prepared for inquest proceedings.
City Councilor Elgin Damasco said the woman would be brought to the City Prosecutor’s Office for the filing of charges.
“Nakatakdang dalhin ngayong umaga sa City Prosecutors Office si Lola Maria… upang pormal na sampahan ng kaso sa pamamagitan ng inquest proceeding,” Damasco said.
In a separate account, the woman told Damasco that she was unaware that the bag she carried contained ammunition.
Her son, a soldier assigned in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, later admitted ownership of the items.
Damasco also appealed for assistance for the woman, citing her recent bereavement as her husband died last month and lack of relatives in the city, while urging authorities to consider her situation.
The elderly woman will undergo inquest today.
