The past weeks, more and more stories from victims of the “Laglag Bala” scam have been surfacing on the internet. There have been a variety of suspicions such as corrupt airport officials, corrupt government, involvement of syndicates and even criminal partnerships with cab drivers. While there is no clear solution yet to this, travelers are making sure to be extra cautious as to not fall victim to this scam by wrapping their bags in plastic.
Photo grabbed from OFW’s in Hongkong FB page
Just to be clear, the bag wrapping service in airports is NOT something new. The service has been available for a year or so in most airports worldwide. The point of this service is to protect travelers from theft and to give them a deeper sense of security. However, because of the recent rise in cases of “laglag bala” scam, the service has begun trending. For P150, your bag will be wrapped with plastic to protect it from tampering. However, should the need arise, this will not stop airport officials from opening your bag.
Check out this video shared by Dante R. of the bag wrapping service in NAIA. Better safe than sorry right?
What do you think of this? Would you have your bag wrapped?
