A Filipino worker who had just arrived from Dubai lost all her luggage to a thief at Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s Terminal 3 on March 19, in what appears to be a premeditated scheme carried out in plain sight.
The victim, identified only as the sister of Facebook user Mj Seller who posted the account, had stopped to rest at Terminal 3 before transferring to Terminal 2 for her connecting flight. Tired from the journey, she dozed off on a chair near the Burger King outlet close to the restrooms.
A slim man wearing a red jacket and a cap approached her and struck up a conversation. He claimed to also be from Dubai and said he was originally from Iligan City. The two eventually went to eat inside the airport terminal together.
When they returned to their seats, the man told her he was going to use the restroom and asked her to watch over his belongings. She did the same when she needed to use the facilities — leaving her bags under what she believed was his watch. Within about three minutes of her returning, the man and every piece of her luggage were gone, including a shoulder bag. Among the stolen items were gold jewelry and personal documents.
Mj Seller said airport staff reviewed the CCTV footage only the following day — too late, she noted, to intercept the suspect before he exited the terminal. She said her sister was visible in the footage but added that there has been no update on the suspect’s whereabouts.
The family acknowledged that a couple at the terminal had also reported a similar incident around the same time, with their belongings taken in front of them, suggesting the airport may have seen multiple theft incidents that day.
Airport staff reportedly told the family that only the victim was visible in the available CCTV footage.
Mj Seller said the family has since accepted that recovering the stolen items is unlikely, but urged other OFWs and travelers to stay alert. “Lesson learned — don’t talk to strangers,” she wrote. “It’s better to be paranoid than to trust.”
