- A security officer was caught on video stuffing items into her mouth at an airport in the Philippines.
- Authorities are investigating claims that the officer was swallowing money stolen from a passenger.
A security officer in a Philippines airport was caught putting items in her mouth on camera, CNN reported.
The incident happened in Terminal 1 of Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport on September 8, according to The Inquirer, an English-language newspaper in the Philippines. The Office for Transportation Security posted a statement about the incident on its Facebook page on Tuesday.
In the statement, the Office for Transportation Security wrote that the theft of $300 was under investigation.
News5, a local broadcaster, shared footage of the airport incident online on September 20. In the video, the officer can be seen shoving items into her mouth while holding a bottle of water. The video later showed her drinking water while using a finger to push the rest into her mouth. From the video footage available online, Insider was not able to identify what the officer was eating.
The officer has not been publicly identified.
The officer denied stealing cash from a passenger and claimed she was eating chocolate, Ma. O. Aplasca, the administrator for the Office for Transportation Security, told News5 in Tagalog.
"That's not the normal way to eat chocolate, and she kept poking her mouth," Aplasca said. The officer has been working at the airport for seven years and earns a monthly wage of 16,000 Philippine pesos, or around $281, Aplasca said.
Manila International Airport Authority declined to comment to Insider.
"The actions described is obviously not reflective of the code of conduct for civil servants, much more of the core values that majority of our personnel upholds," the Facebook statement read, adding that the Office for Transportation Security is working with the Manila International Airport Authority and the Philippine National Police Aviation Security in the investigation.
The officer has since been suspended, Aplasca told CNN. Aplasca told CNN that the Office for Transportation Security is pursuing an "administrative case" against the officer and is considering filing a criminal case against her.
The Office for Transportation Security and the Philippine National Police Aviation Security did not immediately respond to requests from Insider for comment.