The 56-year-old household worker Gloria Ortinez was supposed to leave for Hong Kong on October 27.
Instead, she stayed the night in the National Capital Region (NCR) headquarters of the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group (PNP-AVSEGROUP) after being arrested in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2.
The security screening officer detected in the X-ray machine a rifle bullet in Ortinez’s hand-carry bag.
Chief of PNP-AVSEGROUP Senior Supt. Ricardo Layug said Ortinez knew the location of the bullet when the security screening officer asked her to open the bag. She was apprehended on the spot.
Ortinez, however, is confused as to how the bullet wrapped in red cloth made it in her bag.
She had arrived from Laoag Airport, and she said the security officers did not detect the bullet in her bag. She added that her conscious is clear.
In the three years of her being a household worker in Hong Kong, Ortinez goes back to the Philippines every year. She claimed she had never held a bullet her whole life.
Ortinez had a hunch she was a victim of the “tanim-bala” modus in NAIA.
Furthermore, she would never ruin her dream of going abroad. She has graduated her two children.
The PNP-AVSEGROUP insisted that they have enough evidence to charge Ortinez with illegal possession of ammunition. They, however, will check with the CCTV cameras.
Ortinez is appealing for her case.
Ortinez’s child came from Laoag to Manila to see her, as her blood pressure had shot up.
The Pasay City Prosecutor’s Office arrived two days later with an inquest resolution for the PNP-AVSEGROUP to free Ortinez without bail.
Ortinez joyfully left the PNP headquarters and thanked everyone who helped her.
Based on the resolution, the bullet found on Ortinez’s bag and the picture of the actual ammunition presented by the PNP are distinctively different from one another. The bullet in the photo was considerably smaller compared to the evidence presented.
According to Ortinez’s lawyer, it furthermore cannot be determined what caliber of gun the bullet is for.
Ortinez added that the PNP also forced her to admit she owns the bullet.
Ortinez’s lawyer firmly believes that the bullet was planted in her bag. He challenges the NAIA and the Laoag Airport to publicize the CCTV footage that shows that Ortinez indeed has a bullet in her bag.
Ortinez is coordinating with her employer in Hong Kong to explain why she wasn’t able to fly there in the designated date.
WATCH BELOW VIDEO
Source: ABS-CBN News
