PAO chief: ‘Laglag bala’ punishable by reclusion perpetua

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MANILA – Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) chief Atty. Persida Acosta on Monday advised overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and travellers to call their office should they fall victims of the persistent “laglag bala” extortion scheme.

Acosta disclosed that the perpetrators of the scheme could face criminal charges and be imprisoned, noting that ‘any incriminatory act of planning evidence can be criminally charged of incriminatory machinations’ under Article 363 of the Revised Penal Code and section 38 of the Comprehensive Firearms Act R.A. No. 10591 regarding the planting of ammunitions punishable with reclusion perpetua.”

Article 363 of the RPC stated that “any person who, by any act not constituting perjury, shall directly incriminate or impute to an innocent person the commission of a crime, shall be punished by arresto menor.”

Moreover, section 38 of RA 10591 stated that “the penalty of prision mayor in its maximum period shall be imposed upon any person who shall willfully and maliciously insert; place, and/or attach, directly or indirectly, through any overt or covert act, any firearm, or ammunition, or parts thereof in the person, house, effects, or in the immediate vicinity of an innocent individual for the purpose of implicating or incriminating the person, or imputing the commission of any violation of the provisions of this Act to said individual.”

In the “laglag bala” modus operandi, a bullet or two would be slipped into a passenger’s baggage before it goes through an x-ray procedure. An airport officer would then ask the victim to pay a certain amount for the personal to overlook the incident. Passengers who declined to pay were detained for a couple of days under police custody for allegedly concealing a bullet in the checked-in baggage.

In case passengers get victimized by the modus, they may call PAO hotline +632 929 9436 to immediately report the incident.