MANILA, Philippines  (The Adobo Chronicles) –  If you’re planning a trip to Manila and your flight gets in and out of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), you’d better stock up on plastic wrap.  You would need them to protect your checked-in or carry-on luggage from laglag bala.

Laglag bala is a scheme that involves the arrest of airline passengers allegedly found to be keeping bullets in their luggage. It is suspected that the bullets are “planted” by airport personnel as a way of extorting money from unsuspecting passengers.

Frustrated that the Philippine government has not done much to prevent the sheme or to punish the perpetrators, travelers have resorted to protecting their bags from being victimized by the schemers — by using plastic (saran) wrap to prevent intrusion and the planting of bullets in their luggage.

Supermarkets and other retail outlets in the Philippines have reported a sharp increase in their sales of plastic wrap in just the last three weeks, and many have run out of the item.

While travel and tourism get a hit, retail businesses are having a big boom in their sales, at least for plastic wrap.

It’s really more fun in the Philippines!