MANILA- A passenger who flew from South Korea to Manila via an AirAsia flight last week reported losing money and personal belongings placed in her check-in baggage.

Pamela Anne Jacar said she lost P8,000 and KRW (Korean Won) 3,000 (P132) in cash along with some merchandise she bought from a concert in South Korea. The items, she said, were placed inside her backpack, which she had padlocked upon baggage check.

"Naka-padlock po 'yung bag ko. Nasa loob po ng wallet ko 'yung peso and 'yung won ko," she told ABS-CBN News in a phone interview Wednesday.

Jacar, who works at the University of the Philippines Korea Research Center, arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA-T3) at 4:10 pm on June 15 via AirAsia flight Z2 885.

She said she and others on the same flight waited for almost two hours before their luggage came out at the airport's conveyor belt.

Other passengers, she said, were already complaining of the waiting time as passengers of another flight that arrived around 5:30 pm were able to get their luggage quickly.

Upon getting her bags, Jacar was surprised to see the padlock on her backpack missing. She then found out that some of her belongings were already missing. Her luggage, however, was still intact.

Jacar suspects that someone rummaged through her belongings as coins she had kept inside her wallet and other personal items were already scattered inside the bag when she got it back.

"Nakita ko po kalat na kalat... Hinalungkat nila yung buong backpack," she said.

Jacar said three other passengers also reported missing locks on their luggage.

AIRLINE RESPONSIBILITY

An AirAsia staffer named Dandy Sanchez assisted Jacar and the three other passengers who reported missing items.

Sanchez, according to Jacar, reported the incident to the airline and advised her to send a complaint via email through the AirAsia website. She said she also called AirAsia on June 16 and was able to talk to a call center agent.

Jacar has yet to receive feedback from the airline about her complaint sent online.

Reached for comment, AirAsia acknowledged receiving Jacar's call on June 16 and said an investigation on the incident was already underway.

"The Company does not condone any irregular or unlawful actions by any of our staff and an immediate investigation was carried out," the company said in a statement sent to ABS-CBN News.

But AirAsia said it could not validate Jacar's complaint against its staff. Still, it promised to contact Jacar about the incident.

"The Company's security department [was] unable to validate the complaint against our staff, nevertheless our Management will still be reaching out to Ms. Jacar personally," the company said.

ABS-CBN News tried to reach Sanchez but he has yet to respond.

The Manila International Airport Authority Media Division meanwhile said the security of passengers' baggage was the responsibility of the airline as airline personnel ferry baggage to and from the plane.