A priest caused a Manila-bound flight to be delayed at the Dumaguete airport after he mentioned the word “bomb” inside the plane as it was preparing to take off last Wednesday.
The Philippine Airlines flight had to let all their passengers disembark after a priest told the stewardess that what he was carrying was food and “not a bomb”.
The stewardess immediately informed the captain, who ordered the passengers to disembark, while airport authorites inspected the plane.
The identity of the priest was not revealed, even as the Diocese of Dumaguete said the priest did not belong to the local clergy in the Diocese.
The head of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines at the Dumaguete-Sibulan Airport in Negros Oriental on Thursday warned the public against making jokes involving bombs or bomb threats.
“This is to remind the public to refrain from making ‘bomb jokes’ inside the airport to avoid inconvenience especially to our passengers,” said Mark Diamaoden, local CAAP chief.
Diamaoden warned that doing so is a violation of the law, and carries with it stiff sanctions.
“Please be warned that bomb jokes or false bomb threats is in violation of Presidential Decree 1727, and is punishable up to five years imprisonment and P40,000 fine, or both,” he said.
The CAAP chief declined to comment on the incident, saying that it is the Philippine National Police who is handling the case, and that the airlines has the discretion to take necessary action against the priest.
The CAAP chief warned that jokes about carrying bombs while in the airport or on board the aircraft will be treated seriously, and “anyone cracking jokes will be denied carriage by the airlines and/or entry in the airport, and will be subjected to investigation by the PNP-Aviaton Security Group.”
“We are also trying our best to promote passenger convenience, and reliable/efficient air travel. In our effort to attain these things, we would like to ask the public to also help us in our determination to have a safe, secure, and green Dumaguete airport,” the CAAP chief here said.
Diamaoden confirmed that the PAL flight departed afterwards, and even the senior citizen priest was also allowed to fly out of Dumaguete. (Judy Flores Partlow/PNA)
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});