source:
Guard kills cabbie | Sun.Star Network Online
CEBU City -- A security guard shot and killed a driver near the domestic arrival area of the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA) Thursday, following an argument over the airport’s rules.
Serafin Gesta, 33, died after being shot in the head and body. He was hit while running away from the guard, Jessie Jumadiao. The two had traded punches after arguing about the airport’s restrictions on soliciting passengers in the arrival area.
General Manager Danilo Augusto Francia described the 6:05 a.m. shooting as isolated, and assured that the airport remains a safe place for passengers and the general public.
He downplayed any effects the incident may have, even if it came mere days ahead of the arrival of tourists in time for the Sinulog festival.
The incident also brought to mind the April 19, 1999 shooting of parking attendant Peter Garbo, allegedly by Air Force Maj. Rodulfo Bonanza Jr., over a disagreement on a P10 parking fee at the parking area.
Gesta was on the stairs leading to the departure level, about 15 steps away from Jumadiao, when the latter shot him in the head using a 9mm pistol. When Gesta fell, Jumadiao allegedly went up the stairs and pumped two more bullets into him.
Fistfight
They had started arguing in the driveway, as Jumadiao tried to drive Gesta away. Calling for passengers at the domestic arrival area is restricted, in line with international airline security standards the MCIAA has adopted.
Gesta, who was bigger, overpowered Jumadiao in the fistfight.
But when he noticed the guard was pulling out his handgun, Gesta scampered to the staircase beside the departure terminal building. He never made it upstairs.
Gesta was rushed to the Mactan Doctors’ Hospital by the airport’s medical team, but he died at 10 a.m.
Jumadiao surrendered to Police Officer 1 Sedrick Abas of the Aviation Security Group shortly after the shooting, but was then turned over to the Lapu-Lapu City police.
That Gesta “was allegedly canvassing passengers for a ‘colorum’ or unauthorized vehicle-for-hire does not justify the shooting; he was as much entitled to a life of dignity and respect as the rest of us,” Francia said in a press statement he distributed before starting his press conference.
Changes
“I cannot be the judge of this. I’m not protecting anyone. Let the laws of the land be put in place and the correct agencies investigate and make judgment. My responsibility is to allow these agencies to exercise their duties and instead I must focus on actions that will continue to maintain safety, security and hospitality to all in the airport,” he said in a text message sent to Sun.Star Cebu.
He accepted responsibility for the incident, however, saying it was a case of a supervisory error.
Francia also said he is considering modifications in security procedures at the airport and a review of the rules of engagement to prevent similar incidents or any situation where passengers’ safety is placed at risk.
Personnel assigned to handle enforcement inside the two terminal buildings are no longer allowed to carry firearms. They will be issued with other equipment, “probably” stun guns, so they can do their jobs.
Firearms will be issued only to personnel detailed as security outside the two buildings, Francia said.
“I am putting the right force at the right time. When there is no need to carry guns, we won’t give them one,” he said.
“We are going to adopt this in balance, where we can deal with the terrorist threat and at the same time prevent a guard from using his firearms in an unnecessary situation,” he said.
Mustang
Regular patrols by the airport’s Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) team and personnel of the 7th Police Center for Aviation Security are also a deterrent to terrorist attacks, the airport manager said.
He is confident the new security procedures will pass the quarterly security evaluation by the Office of Transportation Security.
Mustang Security Agency’s 123 guards, among them Jumadiao, form only a part of the airport’s security personnel.
Despite the incident, MCIAA is determined to renew the agency’s service contract, which expired yesterday.
“This incident is not easy to forget, but we can’t keep on replacing a security agency because it has to pass the tedious bidding procedure,” he said.
Guard kills cabbie in MCIAA
Reply With Quote
Posting Permissions
