THE cases of people getting arrested for bomb jokes at mall entrances are indications of a need to improve security check procedures.
Their arrests could have been prevented had there been improvements or upgrades in the ways security checks are conducted in public places.
When you enter a mall or a public building, the security guard checks your bag manually with a stick or with the use of a handheld metal detector or you go through the entry control booth.
Sometimes you have nowhere to put your bag on to open it; sometimes you have to leave your opened bag a second or two with the guard to go through the booth then get your bag at the other side.
In airports, the advice is for passengers to never lose sight of their bags. When you go through a security booth at a mall, never leave your opened bag out of your sight or with the guard. Not even for a second or two. A sleight of hand needs only a second to perform a trick.
The best way is to have the customer open his or her bag after going through the booth and without leaving it with the first guard.
If you’re wearing a pair of sunglasses, the guard tells you, albeit indirectly, to remove them. No reason is given. I later understood that removing sunglasses gave security cameras a clear view of your face. But no, the guards didn’t give me any reason. One time I entered a mall wearing my sunglasses because I came from outside and it was sunny. It’s a tropical country and people who go outside usually put on dark glasses to protect their eyes.
The female guard at the entrance checked my bag then told me, “Imo sunglasses, miss.” (“Your sunglasses, miss.”) I replied, “Oo, nindot no?” (“Yes, they’re nice. Right?”) I didn’t know what the guard meant until my companion told me the guard wanted me to remove my sunglasses. For what purpose? My companion said probably to check my eyes if they were red or see if I had eye bags. She wasn’t sure either.
It was after the Davao city market bombing that killed 14 people last September 2 that security checks intensified nationwide. Arrests were made and criminal charges were filed in court against people who made bomb jokes in Cebu, Davao, and Manila. Among those held were a woman planning on leaving for work in Japan, a young man who said his portable speaker was a bomb, and a teenager student. More could get arrested if the security concerns in the country continue.
President Rodrigo Duterte placed the entire country under a state of emergency after the bombing to enable him to call on members of the Armed Forces to help the police in maintaining peace and order.
Part of the emergency situation measures was the heightened security checks in malls, government buildings, offices and gated communities. Enforcement is being intensified.
But it is always good to pair heightened enforcement with a campaign to ensure the public knows about the new situation or the new demands on them.
Signs to remind people that bomb jokes are illegal could lead to fewer or no more arrests. Tell them of the fine and imprisonment they would face if found guilty.
On security check procedures, establishments should study, together with the agencies that provided them with security guards, what improvements to adopt to help the public and to keep their places safe.
(ninicab@sunstar.com.ph)