Cebu Daily News / News

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Airport guard kills driver By Dale G. Israel Cebu Daily News Posted date: January 09, 2009 An airport security guard yesterday flared up at a taxi driver for parking outside the domestic terminal of the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA). The argument turned ugly. When driver Serafin Gesta turned his back, security guard Jessie Jumadiao, 33, pulled out a gun and shot him twice. As Gesta, 33, fell on the ground, the guard finished him off with a shot to the back of the head. The guard later surrendered. Airport officials said the shooting outside the domestic terminal was an “isolated case” and that the airport remained safe. “We apologize for what transpired, especially at a time when Cebu is in the thick of preparations for the Sinulog festival,” said Danilo Francia, MCIA general manager. He assured that there would be changes in the security system, replacing guns of the security personnel at the passenger terminal with batons and stun guns to avoid a repeat of the violence. Gesta was detained at the Lapu-Lapu City Police Office (LLCPO) pending the filing of charges. He also underwent a paraffin test to determine if he had fired a gun recently. The guard said he called the attention of Gesta because the taxi driver’s cab was unregistered. Airport policy bans unregistered taxicabs from parking at the designated area outside the domestic terminal for departing passengers. Jumadiao of Mustang Security Agency declined to elaborate. “Pangutan-a lang ang akong mga kauban (Just ask my colleagues at the airport),” he said. Police investigation showed that Gesta, a resident of Compostela town in northern Cebu, parked his taxi unit outside the domestic departure area about 6 a.m. Only registered taxis are allowed to park and pick up passengers there. Gesta got down and walked to the domestic arrival area to pick up some passengers. When the security guard called his attention and told him to leave, Gesta refused. He said his MCIA registration just expired and would soon be renewed. The security guard, however, stood his ground. They argued and ended up in a fistfight, with the security guard overpowered by the bigger Gesta, who pinned him on the ground. When the taxi driver saw the guard pull out his service 9mm pistol, Gesta ran up the stairs leading to the domestic departure area. Two shots were fired and Gesta slumped on the stairs. The security guard then approached the fallen Gesta and shot him in the head. Jumadiao later “surrendered” to the Aviation Security Group (ASG) whose office was about 30 meters away from the crime scene. Airport personnel brought Gesta to the Mactan Doctor's Hospital where he died about 10 a.m., four hours after the confrontation. Senior Insp. Gazbamiller Guzman, acting ASG chief, refused to say if the driver was operating as a “colorum” without a permit. He said he would rather call Gesta a taxi driver. Rent-a-car drivers at the airport told that Gesta was a rent-a-car driver but his registration ticket at the MCIA had expired. Airport officials said they believe excessive force was used by the guard. Francia of MCIA said that while he would leave it to the police to conduct an official investigation, his office would conduct its own internal probe. “Believing that no amount of unjustified violence will correct whatever wrong Gesta may have committed, the (Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority) management is now adopting necessary corrective measures,” said Francia in a statement. He said some security personnel, including the blue guards assigned in the passenger terminal would no longer be allowed to carry firearms. They will instead be given stun guns and batons. Only personnel assigned to secure the airport perimeter will be armed. “It's not really disarming airport security. It's just allowing the use of the right force in the right place and at the right time,” Francia told a press conference. “We have ordered our police authorities to modify existing policies on the possession and use of firearms in the airport, with the end of limiting the use of firearms to members of the quick-reaction forces such as the Special Weapons and Tactics.” Francia will also order the retraining of airport security supervisors. He said the violence was a result of a “supervisory error.” Operations remained normal at the airport although arriving domestic passengers had to use the ramp instead of the stairs, where the police had cordoned off the crime scene. /with a report from Correspondent Chris Ligan