An unpleasant incident at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) marred K-pop group Enhypen’s three-day “Manifesto” concert in Manila. A viral video of a female security staff giggling while frisking Enhypen during their NAIA pre-departure screening angered thousands of fans online. Many have voiced their dismay and asked authorities to conduct a proper investigation. According to the Office of Transport Security (OTS), personnel might be met with harsh punishments for violating the rules. Here’s what’s happening.

OTS admin says staff will be punished if found guilty

OTS administrator Ma. O Ranada Aplasca assured everyone that personnel guilty of harassing the boys and illegally filming the pre-departure procedure will be sanctioned accordingly.

In an interview with DZMM TeleRadyo last February 6, Aplasca said that what happened in the viral video was “not the proper procedure and proper deportment of the screening officers.” Aplasca acknowledged that it was “unprofessional” of the female staff to giggle while patting down the boys. To top it all off, he said that filming the pre-departure procedure was the “worst case violation of rules” of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA).

He also confirmed that the female officer in the video, along with her whole team including their supervisors, have been called to the OTS office for the “official investigation.”

OTS acknowledges all the wrong things that happened during the incident

The current status of those people involved in the NAIA incident yesterday is still currently under investigation. | via NET25’s A.S.P.N.#MIAADoBetter pic.twitter.com/BdecIbUtvB

— ENHYPEN Philippines  (@EnhypenPH) February 7, 2023

According to Aplasca, the incident involved a lot of rule violations. First, filming Enhypen — or anyone for that matter — going through the NAIA screening is a clear violation of privacy and could endanger the traveling public. Aplasca said that part of their investigation is confirming whether the one who took the video is a staff member.

“I think that’s the worst case that our colleague can do at the airport,” he said via Inquirer.net. “For us, it’s like a breach of security. That’s a very serious violation of our protocols and procedures, it could amount to separation from our service.”

Travelers are also not required to take their masks down during checkpoints, unlike what happened with Enhypen members. Aplasca said that travelers will only be asked to remove their masks during immigration to verify their identity.

Aplasca also said that the staff who conducted the frisking should be male since screening protocols call for same-gender inspections.

OTS, NAIA, ready to apologize

The DOTr USEC apologizes for the incident that happened yesterday at NAIA. | via NET25’s A.S.P.N.#MIAADoBetter pic.twitter.com/2aKVJEGz3M

— ENHYPEN Philippines  (@EnhypenPH) February 7, 2023

Asked if they’re willing to issue a public apology if found guilty, Aplasca immediately apologized even before the investigations had concluded.

“We would like to apologize to the members of Enhypen, especially their fans and supporters, Engene. We apologize for the behavior of our staff. Rest assured we will conduct an investigation on the matter and dole out proper punishments if needed,” he said during an interview with NET25’s A.S.P.N.

Fans call out MIAA, NAIA after viral video

I’M SCARED WTF. i’ve been to airport so many times going b&f to cnd but is there still really something like that? asking the boys to remove the masks too when they don’t even have something to verify wtf. and y r u giggling after checking on them u CREEP pic.twitter.com/f3qwICfcWs

— ash ෆ (@madefor_en) February 5, 2023

The viral video, originally posted on TikTok, was uploaded on Twitter and has amassed 5.3 million views. It showed a giggling female officer patting down Enhypen members as they went through a metal detector. It particularly showed Niki, 17, being frisked and asked to take his mask down.

“NAIA better fire this person. They’re abusing their power by touching the artists while looking at her co-workers while giggling. And she’s literally touching a MINOR while acting like that in the photo below. I need [Belift Lab] to file a lawsuit against her and take action,” said one tweet.

The hashtag #MIAAdobetter also trended online.

“This is literally harassment,” said another. “Get this woman and any other staff that watched this happen FIRED.”

Others are angry that the NAIA staff seemed to turn the “security baggage check area into an Enhypen hi-touch session” or an event where K-pop artists give their fans hi-fives.

Wow seriously the MNL NAIA airport staff turn the security baggage check area into Enhypen hitouch session, instead of a table it’s the freaking luggage conveyor belt 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♂️ #NAIA #MIAAdoBetter pic.twitter.com/JjJpEz0sr8

— Moonbaby 🌌 (@guchaetama) February 6, 2023

Staff also seemingly filmed the boys’ e-Travel Passes

blurred due to personal informations!

what abt this naia? one of your staff filmed enhypen while they were working. the thing that they were showing is their e travel pass. you can clearly see the qr code this is a violation to data privacy #MIAADoBetter MIAA TAKE ACTION pic.twitter.com/Fjb4oWKWKW

— gd. (@kwoonfire) February 6, 2023

The pat-down video wasn’t the only video fans wanted to be investigated. Another viral video showed a staff behind the counter filming the boys while they showed their e-Travel Pass QR codes for verification. When scanned, these codes will lead to the traveler’s personal information including their full name, travel details, etc.

What do you think of this Enhypen NAIA screening fiasco? Share your thoughts with us!

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