From a Christian: A Prayer Brigade to Put a Stop to the NAIA Tanim-Bala Scam

The exact number of weeks is beyond me but the news of the “Laglag-bala” or “Tanim-Bala” scam at the NAIA has haunted me for the longest time. I felt so bad for the victims and each passing day that I watch the noontime news and hear about this, inwardly I seethe. And all the more I feel bad about the lackadaisical attitude of the government and the airport officials.

One Palace official said that the incidences are just a few and nothing to be alarmed about. And today, in the two separate interviews with the airport police and the MIAA manager, they both said that there is nothing wrong with their system and that there is no way for their people to plant bullets in passengers’ bags. Instead of relieving everyone from their posts and imposing stricter measures on their staff’s belongings until a thorough investigation has been done, they said that the bullets that were caught were really brought by the passengers because their staff could not be responsible for these things.

I hate complaining about the government and how they are assuming that Filipinos are stupid. I don’t like writing about the issue in my blog either because I feel that with the hundreds of blogs, opinion columns, editorials, feature stories, and news stories about the issue, nothing is happening.

In a country such as the Philippines, it is not a far-fetched idea for locals to wear bullets as amulets to ward off danger and evil. But I believe that amulets are supposed to be empty bullets and instead of putting these in their luggage, people would wear these around their necks. So why the sudden increase in the number of people getting caught with single live bullets in their traveling bags? There is just no rhyme and reason to this.

Is there nobody who can protect us? If the airport security who are supposed to secure us passengers can do this to us, who will defend us? Do we just go through the airport during each of our travels shaking in fear that a group of wayward airport staff will randomly victimize us? Those apprehended will not only be hassled and their flights cancelled, they will be subjected to steep fines and they are bound to get criminal records because of the incident. These are too much! You had been planning your family vacation for a year, looking for ways to enjoy the most at the least cost and in an instant, you end up in jail? That’s just atrocious!

In the light of all these news stories, my reactions had been of anger and hopelessness. I had talked to my husband about my thoughts but I haven’t really vented out on social media. Today, I was so angry while watching the news that I felt my muscles shaking and eventually I broke down and wept. I felt so emotional about this issue. I wondered why I am so emotionally attached to this when I don’t personally know anybody who was victimized by the scam-—not a family member nor a friend. But I was pushed to the edge. So I began asking why because honestly, I felt powerless about the issue. I am not a lawyer or somebody with authority. What am I to do? I have already entertained malevolent ideas and thoughts of renegade justice to put an end to this. And honestly, I had to ask forgiveness for my thoughts.

Then an idea came to mind—PRAY. What? Wow! Pray? I am a bible-believing Christian who has faith in the risen Christ and the Holy Spirit, but sometimes, in situations like these, prayer seems to be my last recourse. I had to be pushed to the brink of godly despair so that I would sit down and write this prayer and get anyone and everyone who will read to take time to pray this with me. Wherever you are and whatever you do, as long as you have faith in Jesus, I ask you to pray with me with all your heart and with much faith. Let’s claim this together in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ! We are not alone. We are not powerless. God is for us and with us. If you are not a Christian, I respect your beliefs and there is no need for hateful messages here. This message if for those who would like to join in this PRAYER BRIGADE AGAINST THE NAIA TANIM-BALA SCAM. Feel free to insert your personal petitions if you have. May God impress upon your hearts prayer items that are not included here. Feel free to share this prayer and encourage everyone to pray. There is no copyright issue here. Our united goal is for this scam to stop–not to make me famous. So go ahead and copy-paste it.–SigridSays 😀

PRAYER BRIGADE AGAINST THE NAIA TANIM-BALA SCAM

Our Lord Jesus, so many people have landed on the news because they had been reportedly victimized by a group of airport personnel that are supposedly “planting evidence” of live bullets inside the bags of random passengers as an extortion scheme. While random cases may make us think that passengers are indeed carrying contrabands, but daily reported cases don’t seem coincidental anymore. And we don’t know how many have remained unreported.

Father God, you word tells us not to fear but these incidents at the airport are making people fearful as they pass through the halls, feeling that somehow, something bad might happen to them. It seems that as soon as you step inside NAIA, passengers are already at their mercy. We know that this is NOT YOUR WILL, Lord.

We come to you Lord, united in our petition to knock on heaven’s gates for Your hand on this matter. Let Your power manifest for Your glory Lord. We pray, Oh God,

–That those who did not do anything wrong but were apprehended will be declared innocent and properly compensated for their time, tickets, and other expenses incurred for the whole legal debacle that they were forced into.

–That You will bring to justice those criminal elements from the lowest ranking staff to the highest ranking personnel who have a hand at these crimes at the airport—from those who do it and those who cover it. We pray that their schemes be exposed in Your time and brought to justice in the name of Jesus!

–That You will shed Your supernatural light and uncover the dark operations at the NAIA. We pray for the forces of heaven to unravel the illegal organizations that have been spun inside the airport operations that aim to extort money from unsuspecting travelers, especially balikbayans and OFWs.

— That you will protect each traveler passing through NAIA with noble intentions so that he or she will not get entangled in any extortion scam at the airport (from the taxi to the immigration and everything in between) in the mighty name of Jesus. Let every passenger go through the airport with vigilance but also a sense of security that they will not be victimized by officers who have sworn to protect the people. Bless them not only with safe travels but also protection from those who mean harm.

–That You will clean up the airport ranks and rid them of people who are only there for vested interests.

–That You enable Your children to infiltrate the ranks of airport personnel so that they can share the good news of the gospel so that they, too, may believe in You.

— That you will restore the confidence and the morale of each and every Filipino. Give them reasons to believe in our government, our airport, and our transport office once again.

–That in all these, bless ALL those who work at airports with gratitude in their hearts. That they will be gratified with their jobs and be contented with what they already have while working and striving to reach their goals. May those who deserve to be promoted get the promotions that are due to them and may those who are up for salary increases get what they deserve. May you protect their hearts from the temptation to do the wrong for illegal gain and enable them to choose what is right and to serve their posts to the best of their ability.

Thank You, Lord, for the free avenue to reach You through prayer. We beseech You God to hear our prayers and with expectation in our hearts, we await to see Your hand move in the restoration of our airport operations in particular and our nation in general. In Jesus’ mighty name we pray, Amen.

GOD BLESS THE PHILIPPINES!