An international airline reportedly insisted on seeing the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) whose toy plane got smashed by the Bureau of Customs after undergoing airport inspection last month.
OFW Rachell Anne Ramos on April 25 updated Filipinos about the viral incident by sharing pictures of the new toy plane she received from Cathay Pacific. The gift is a die-cast of an Airbus A350-900 scale model.
The toy plane was accompanied by a draw-string pouch, a leather passport holder, and a handwritten note from the airline’s country manager, Donald Morris.
“Thanks to Cathay Pacific Airlines Philippines for this token (red heart emoji) I appreciated it a lot (purple heart emoji) Thanks to Ma’am Anna who [reached] out [to] me after the incident [happened],” Ramos wrote on Facebook with emojis of a red heart and folded hands.
“God bless you all, po! And nice meeting you all in person po,” she added with a smiling-face-with-hearts emoji.
The handwritten note from Morris contained the following message:
Dear Rachell,
We knew how important the Cathay Pacific plane was for you. We therefore hope with this token, it brings back smiles and joy. Sorry, I can’t make it in person as I’m flying to Cebu for work. But hope to see you soon.
Kind regards, Donald
Ramos’ post has earned 443 likes and “love” reactions, 90 shares and 21 comments so far.
The gesture was also appreciated by her Facebook friends.
“Not bad, in fairness sa Cathay, [‘di ba]?” an online user commented.
Ramos shared that it was the airline who insisted on seeing her after the viral incident.
“True! Sila [talaga] nag-insist [na] makita ako,” she responded to her Facebook friend.
“Kaya nga, [‘di] gaya ng taga-NAIA,” the online user commented.
Ramos previously shared that a BOC personnel had destroyed her die-cast toy plane after undergoing a “stressful” airport inspection.
At that time, the OFW arrived from Hong Kong after working there for four years.
Ramos was on her way to her connecting flight to Laoag at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 when the inspectors flagged her for the “suspicious” image of her toy plane, believing it contained contraband.
“‘Yung after nila ma-found out [na] parang espalto ang laman, todo sorry na sila (facepalm emoji). Pasalamat nga sila [‘di] ko [na] pinabayaran eh (hands-covering-mouth and laughing-with-tears emojis),” she said before.
A die-cast toy is a detailed replica, often to scale, of an actual item. It is manufactured through a die-cast process and is made of metal and plastic.
Metals used in die-casting involve a mixture of zinc and aluminum.
Ramos eventually gave in to the airport inspectors’ request and allowed them to open the box containing her die-cast toy plane since she was in a hurry to catch her next flight.
There was no contraband found.
The OFW suggested that the airport authorities should invest in a better X-ray machine.
“Mas maganda if mag upgrade sila ng X-ray machine. ‘Yung talagang malinaw ‘yung image na sinasabi nila, ‘There’s something image inside the plane’. Confident sila sa sarili nila na kung ano nasa loob ng plane,” Ramos said before.
BOC assistant commissioner and spokesperson Vincent Maronilla previously apologized for the act.
He also explained that officers were just being careful. He cited that in the past, suspects were found to have stashed drugs inside toys or speakers in an attempt to evade authorities.
The bureau has likewise released a statement about the matter.
“We sincerely apologize to the concerned passenger for any inconvenience it may have caused and recognize the unintentional errors committed at the expense of our passenger,” it said on April 5.
“We understand the importance of balancing security and passenger comfort. Thus, we will review our procedures to align with this goal and to avoid similar occurrences in the future,” the BOC added.
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