Stranded in Manila: Palau Pres. Refused to be Frisked Before Boarding Cont. Airlines

[chua_riwap]

Nakakatawa naman ito. Head of State pa naman siya ng Palau. Does this mean he's excempted from this procedure? Mahigpit pala ang CA. Walang sini-sino.

Dapat nagdala siya ng sarili nyang plane.



ABS-CBNNews.com
3 April 2008

Stranded Palau Leader, Finally Set to Leave

The President of the Pacific island of Palau who was left stranded in Manila on a state visit after he refused to be frisked before boarding a commercial flight is finally set to leave Thursday.

A report reaching ABS-CBN News said that President Tommy Remengesau is en route to Villamor Air Base to board a private plane that was reportedly arranged by the Palau government.

While stranded in Manila, Remengesau was reportedly accompanied by officials of the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs and security from the Presidential Security Group.

Remengesau was left stranded after he refused to be frisked before boarding a Continental Airlines flight Wednesday night.The flight departed Manila around 10 p.m. leaving the Palau leader and his wife behind.

The plane had to return after midnight after the control tower at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport received a call saying there was a bomb on board. No explosives were found, according to retired general Atilano Morada, airport security chief.

The Continental Airlines flight, with stop-offs in Palau, Yap and a final landing in Guam, departed again at around 5 a.m. with 140 passengers on board. Remengesau and his wife were still not among them.

Earlier, Continental Airlines had insisted that Remengesau be patted down before boarding the commercial flight much to the dismay of the VIP party, including Philippine Vice-President Noli de Castro, who were on hand to bid him farewell after a two-day state visit.

"We expected better treatment accorded to a head of state," Ramon Rechebei, the Palau ambassador to the Philippines, told Reuters. "The airline demanded that he be frisked before entering the plane otherwise he would not be allowed to enter."

"So, we decided that he should not go through," said Rechebei, adding that Palau may make a formal complaint about Continental through diplomatic channels.

A report reaching ABS-CBN News said that Maximina Cabantog, Continental Airlines manager explained that the airline is required to follow the policy of the US Transportation Security Administration to have all passengers of US-bound planes to undergo body frisking. The Continental Airlines flight's final destination was Guam which is a US territory.

[Isuzoom]

diplomatic protocol lang sana...tsk..tsk..

[redorange]

Should have used a private plane instead of a commercial aircraft if he didn't want to be searched either that or his country can buy their own plane. It's a US commercial aircraft so he is subject to the rules and regulations of the company regardless of who he is and what he does.

[cutedoc]

a protocol is a protocol unless otherwise specified that the head of state are immune to these regulations.

[Memphis Raines]

Nabasa nya siguro yung tungkol sa nangyari kay John Estrada




........................................:gun:..... .........................................

[shadow]

diplomatic protocol lang sana...tsk..tsk..

+1...OA lang sila masyado....nakusap na nga rin si VP noli eh..wala pa rin...

eh sino ba pinaka OA sa ganyan mga diplomatic immunity eh di US rin...will Pres Bush be allowed to be search kung dumating siya dito sa airport natin, pwede rin ba i-search yun airforce one?

eh yun pumunta dito si Bush kulang na lang isara buong Pilipinas just to accomodate him...

sabagay come to think of it...kailangan nga nilang maghigpit dahil nalusutan na sila sa 9/11...hehehe

[Galactus]

Wala sa lugar yung paghihigpit ng airline. Heads of state, AFAIK, are immune from frisking, even if he is boarding a commercial flight. Hindi naman ganun kayaman ang Palau for their government to buy their own plane. Nagpa-frisk naman ang mga ministers, so dapat in-exempt na yung Presidente. After all, he was on an official state visit, and he was vouched for by our VP.

[chua_riwap]

OT

Sana pinalusot na lang ng CA yung Palau Pres. para wala na naging problema. Pero bilib din ako sa staff ng CA. Pres. yung tinalo. Walang pinipili sa policy nila.

[Lucius]

+1...OA lang sila masyado....nakusap na nga rin si VP noli eh..wala pa rin...

eh sino ba pinaka OA sa ganyan mga diplomatic immunity eh di US rin...will Pres Bush be allowed to be search kung dumating siya dito sa airport natin, pwede rin ba i-search yun airforce one?

eh yun pumunta dito si Bush kulang na lang isara buong Pilipinas just to accomodate him...

sabagay come to think of it...kailangan nga nilang maghigpit dahil nalusutan na sila sa 9/11...hehehe

Nakalusot or PINALUSOT? Hehehehe

Parang wala namang respect sa government and president ng Palau kasi yun.

[ringostarr]

ako nga ngaun ko lang nalaman na meron pala country Palau

[Syuryuken]

ako nga ngaun ko lang nalaman na meron pala country Palau

nakapag tour na ko diyan 3.5 hrs lang yata (di ko na matandaan) from manila. puro isla yan, yung airport nga nila nasa isang isla din pero ang ganda ansarap magbakasyon diyan. funny thing is mas marami ang pinoy kesa palauan Ang ospital nila dito pa sa pinas si freddie aguilar sikat na sikat sa palau

FYI under ng US ang Palau.

[Isuzoom]

actually problema ng palau yan and the flag carrier airline which is the US of A...yung involve lang sa atin ..filipino employee who did his job ..baka di tayo makabalik sa cateory 1 ng FAA.

[Jun aka Pekto]

Just wondering........

Did he get frisked on the way to the Philippines as well or was it just on the way out?

[Isuzoom]

on the way out...

[Imau]

I go to Palau every 2nd week of July for the annual financial audit of our branch office there. Every Island in the country is a separate state. And yes, a lot of Filipinos are working in Palau, karamihan sa mga "waitress" dun ay mga Pinay. Btw, Palau is no longer under the trustee ship of the United States. It is now an independent country. Yung kanta ni Freddie Aguilar na Anak ay laging pinapatugtog dun.

[shadow]

is it true na 20k+ lang ang population nila?

[Jun aka Pekto]

on the way out...

If he wasn't frisked on the way in, I wonder what airline he used? I'd assume it's a Continental Air round trip ticket. But, you never know. Are there any details of his itinerary headed from the Palau Islands to the Philippines?

I've flown Continental Air several times. They've always been strict. They're not Turkish Airlines strict. But, they're strict, nevertheless. They've been that way even pre-911.

[Syuryuken]

Palau is no longer under the trustee ship of the United States. It is now an independent country.

bro kelan pa?

[Imau]

bro kelan pa?

Lakay, here is what I found from Wiki: Palau gained its independence October 1, 1994, when the Compact of Free Association with the United States came into force. Palau was the last portion of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands to gain its independence. Under the Compact, the U.S. remains responsible for Palau's defense for 50 years, and Palauans are allowed to serve in the U.S. military without having to possess permanent residency in the U.S.

Palau is a sovereign nation and conducts its own foreign relations. Since independence, Palau has established diplomatic relations with a number of nations, including many of its Pacific neighbors. Palau was admitted to the United Nations on December 15, 1994, and has since joined several other international organizations.

The United States maintains the usual diplomatic delegation and an embassy in Palau, but most aspects of the two countries' relationship have to do with Compact-funded projects, which are the responsibility of the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs.[7] This has led to some ambiguity in the offical status of Palau, though regarded as de jure independent.


You might be right bro that they are still under the US.

[boybi]

The plane had to return after midnight after the control tower at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport received a call saying there was a bomb on board. No explosives were found, according to retired general Atilano Morada, airport security chief.

Siguro staff ng Palau president ang tumawag na may bomb sa CA plane