Surprise! US diplomat subjected to body search

Mar 30, 2005
Updated 01:24am (Mla time)
Nikko Dizon
Inquirer News Service

WE'RE not mad; we just got even.

A top-ranking American diplomat made no protest yesterday morning when airport security personnel frisked him as soon as he stepped into the presidential lounge of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Centennial Terminal.

Ambassador Christopher Hill, the newly appointed assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, looked surprised but smiled and raised his arms as he was scanned with a metal detector and subjected to a body check.

During Holy Week, the Philippines formally protested the alleged harassment of Senator Luisa “Loi” Ejercito Estrada at the San Francisco International Airport on March 20.

The senator complained that she was detained for one-and-a-half hours at the airport and asked such questions as whether she thought her husband, former President Joseph Estrada, would be convicted of plunder.

Various US entities, as well as US Ambassador Francis Ricciardone, offered their apologies and regrets over the incident.

Part of security

A source at the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) who was at the presidential lounge said the body check on Hill was a way for Filipinos to get even for the American immigration officials' crude treatment of Ejercito.

However, Senate President Franklin Drilon did not think the incident had anything to do with what happened to Ejercito.

"That's just part of the airport's security measures. I don't think it had something to do with what happened to Senator Loi," he said.

Yesterday, at least three security personnel approached Hill for a body check when he arrived at the NAIA presidential lounge for a brief press conference before leaving for Thailand on board a Philippine Airlines flight.

Instead of making a big fuss, Hill, the top US State Department representative in Asia, was obliging and quipped: "The TSA (US Transportation Security Administration) will be very happy."

Even Hill's special assistant, James Wayman, and US Embassy counsel for political affairs, Scott Douglas Bellard, allowed themselves to be searched by airport security.

No special treatment

"Well, I just think that proves that there's no special treatment given," Ruth Nikola Urry, deputy press attaché of the US State Department, later told reporters when asked for comment.

Hill again underwent a final security check before boarding his flight.

Currently the US ambassador to Seoul, South Korea, Hill will officially assume his duties in Washington next month. He replaces James A. Kelly who resigned from the post in January this year.

Hill, who met with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, reiterated America's support for her government.

Listen and learn

"It's really been a great pleasure to come here and to see the strength of this relationship, the strength of this alliance. I was very pleased to have this opportunity to meet with the political leadership here," Hill said at the press conference.

Hill said terrorism and the US travel advisories recently issued by Washington were among the issues he discussed with Ms Arroyo. When asked by reporters to give details, he declined to elaborate.

"We were able discuss these issues. I want to emphasize the fact that I was really here on a listen and learn mission. So for me, it was an opportunity to hear from the Filipino government what its problems are, how they see the problems, and how they see the challenges that they face in light of these recent travel advisories," he said.

Hill declined to comment on reports that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) would be included in the US list of foreign terrorists.

A prominent figure in the talks on the North Korean nuclear issue, Hill stressed the commitment of the United States to the six-party process.

"We feel this is the best way to address the problem posed by the nuclear problem in North Korea. We are prepared to have a very serious and very dedicated negotiation in ridding the Korean peninsula of these weapons. The trouble is we can't be negotiating with an empty chair so we have to encourage-all of us have to encourage-getting the North Korean staff to the table," Hill said. With a report from TJ Burgonio