Pinay recounts horror of being a suspected drug mule

A Filipina tourist who recently went with a friend to Bali, Indonesia to celebrate their birthdays recalled in a blog the horror of being suspected a drug mule. In her blog, Chyng Reyes, who works for a business process outsourcing firm in Pasay City, wrote about her "traumatic experience" as an alleged drug trafficker in Bali. Reyes claimed that she and her friend were repeatedly asked if they had taken drugs or carried drugs in their bodies. She also alleged that they were even asked to strip naked and were subjected to a full body scan. GMA News Online cannot independently confirm the claims of the blogger about the alleged incident in Indonesia but a labor advocate has asked the Philippine government to look into the matter. Philippine officials in Indonesia also promised assistance to the Filipinas. On Friday last week, Susan Ople, president of the Blas F. Ople Policy Center, sent a letter to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) urging the government to take appropriate actions on the incident. The center handles labor and migration concerns. “Sumulat kami para ipagbigay alam agad sa gobyerno ng Indonesia na concerned tayo at para hindi maulit ‘yung pangyayari," Ople said in an interview with GMA News Online on Friday. She pointed out that the airport authorities that kept Reyes and her friend in the holding room for over an hour showed disrespect to the two Filipino women. “Wala namang provocation. Wala namang justification. Wala namang nagtip-off sa Indonesia na illegal ang ipinunta nila. Nagbabakasyon lang sila. Mayayabang lang talaga ang mga opisyal na ‘yun," she said. Protest being mulled On Monday, the DFA said Philippine officials in Indonesia are considering filing a protest over the alleged unfair treatment of the two Filipina tourists against the Indonesian government. "The embassy takes these allegations seriously, and [it] is verifying if there is basis to file a protest," the DFA said in a news release posted on its website Monday. The DFA also said it is ready to provide assistance to the two Filipinas and admired their courage in recalling their ordeal. "We admire the two Filipinas' courage in relating their ordeal, and we ask them to touch base with the embassy or the DFA, so the incident could be further documented. This will form basis for the embassy's actions," the DFA added. Reyes' blog Reyes described herself in her blogsite as a graduate of Electronics and Communications Engineering from a state university in Intramuros, Manila, and “an individual who has never taken prohibited drugs." Reyes said she and her friend Dyanie (surname not identified) were accused of transporting illegal drugs to Bali during their vacation there on May 28.
Reyes wrote that when they arrived at the Denpasar International Airport in Bali, an immigration official immediately took their bags and commanded them to go to a holding room. “The moment the officer saw my passport, he carried my luggage. He asked me, ‘Is this yours?’ I said yes. What could be wrong with my luggage? The officer scanned our hands too. We don’t have any idea what’s that for so we asked him. He answered, ‘Secret,’" Reyes wrote in the blog. “After he scanned our hands with [a] stick, he looked at me and said, ‘Come and follow me.’ He looked [at] Dyanie and said, ‘You also,’" she added. Reyes said she became afraid because she felt that the situation was not a “usual immigration thing. This is something serious!" “We followed the officer because we didn’t have a choice. We obeyed him, as if we already did something wrong," she said. “Filipina friends" Reyes said they were brought to a holding room were there were reportedly three officers inside — two males and one female. In the holding room, the officer who accompanied them there reportedly pointed to the picture frames on the wall and said, ‘Meet my Filipina friend. She was caught hiding packs of heroines in her luggage.’" The officer reportedly reminded them that the drug traffickers whose pictures were posted on the wall were penalized with death penalty for illegally transporting drugs to Indonesia. Reyes then realized, “It’s a matter of life and death in the hands of these Indonesian police officers." During the interrogation, the officer pointed again the girl’s photo on the wall and asked, “Do you know her?" “I answered no," Reyes said. Suspected of hiding drugs in their bellies Reyes wrote that they were also asked if they had taken drugs or if they had drugs hidden in their bodies. Reyes said, “Bakit ganun? Tagged na ang Pinoys as drug traffickers dahil sa kasalanan ng iilan...." Several Filipinos have been caught carrying illegal drugs to other countries. In March, three drug couriers were executed in China in March for drug trafficking. Reyes and her friend were asked to strip naked for a full body inspection. They however refused to comply with the airport officials, Reyes said, adding that the authorities did not do any harm to them. “Ang lakas ng kaba ng dibdib ko ‘nung time na ‘yun. I knew they could frame us up. At wala na kaming laban if that happens. Nasa teritoryo nila kami. Dahil Pinoy kami, instant suspect na agad kami," Reyes wrote. After nearly one hour and 30 minutes in the holding room, Reyes and her friend were released without apologies. “They thanked us for being cooperative pero ‘di ko pinansin ‘yung handshake offer nila. Galit na galit ako. Pero alam ko bawal ako magsalita. Hindi rin sila nag-sorry sa abala na ginawa nila," Reyes said. “We finally went out of the airport at 1:30 a.m. I thanked the driver for waiting for us. He wasn’t surprised that we were the last to go out. Sabi niya, kapag Pinoy tsini-check daw muna," Reyes added. — VVP, GMA News