Sen. Marcos hits government for "tanim bala" cover up

"Tanim bala" scam persists because the government tries in covering it up instead of addressing the problem squarely, Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos, Jr. said today.

"The problem is that people are covering their behinds; they are not trying to solve the problem," Marcos told the Senate media in the weekly forum "Kapihan sa Senado."

Marcos noted that instead of conducting an honest-to-goodness probe of the "tanim bala" syndicate the government tried to brush it away by blaming OFWs for bringing ammunition as their amulets while airport authorities insisted they are merely enforcing security rules to the letter.

"Basta't ang reaction ng gobyerno mali e, hindi ko maintindihan. Imbes na gusto nilang ayusin ang problema gusto nilang pagtakpan ang problema, dapat ugatin ang pinanggalingan." said Marcos The government's attitude, according to Marcos, is actually exacerbating the problem.

"The problem is not with the OFWs, the problem is in the organization that allows the '"tanim bala" to carry on and on, even it if is reported in the press. Talk about impunity!" Marcos said.

He said the "tanim bala" syndicate is emboldened because the government's initial reaction was that airport officials and security personnel are only doing their jobs, that there is no syndicate.

Marcos added that so far no one has been sacked for alleged involvement in the extort scam.

"So of course they'd behave with impunity, what would you expect?"

However, Marcos said the government's claims are contradicted by reports of the initial findings of the separate probe the National Bureau of Investigation is doing on the "tanim bala" scam.