Massway Supermarket guards pull employees’ bras, lift shirts in apparent anti-shoplifting checks

Netizens argue that low-wage workers deserve dignity and privacy on the job.

Videos showing Massway Supermarket employees being frisked and made to jump—presumably to prevent shoplifting—have drawn backlash online over concerns about workers’ privacy and dignity.

Facebook user Junior Pitogo, a supposed employee at the supermarket’s Malinta branch in Valenzuela, has shared videos of security checks conducted on workers before and after their shifts.

In the videos, employees line up to be frisked one by one by security guards, who check their bodies and clothing. The search is conducted by the same sex, with women shown lining up before men.

A video posted on Oct. 25 shows security guards inspecting women’s bras by pulling and shaking the bands from outside their shirts. Some male employees are also seen lifting their shirts during the searches.

Another video, posted on Oct. 23, shows employees undergoing frisking before starting their shifts. The guard checks their pockets and undergarments. In that clip and another one posted on Oct. 22, female security guards are also seen frisking male employees.

The videos prompted netizens to question whether the searches go too far in the name of theft prevention. Some also raised concerns about workers’ wages relative to the level of scrutiny they face.

“Tipong mas binabantayan pa ‘yung employee kumpara sa customer,” one Facebook user commented.

Massway Supermarket has yet to issue a statement on the matter.

Guidelines

While operational guidelines for private security guards are not publicly available, the Philippine National Police generally prescribes body searches to be conducted in a restrained manner.

Rule 2.1 of the 2021 PNP Operational Procedures Manual instructs law enforcement to exercise “due caution, restraint, and sensitivity” in body frisking.

“The police officers are permitted only to feel the outer clothing of the person. Police officers shall not place their hands inside the pockets of the clothing unless they feel an object that could probably be a weapon,” a subsection of the rule reads.

If the officer is unable to find weapons or incriminating material after external patting, the officer must simply make note of the fact.

The 2021 PNP Criminal Investigation Manual adds that women suspects must be inspected by women operatives. Though there are no formal publicly available guidelines mandating the gender of private security guards conducting body searches, netizens noted that a guard must frisk someone of the same sex.

Republic Act No. 11917, or the Private Security Services Industry Act, sets standards for the training and regulation of private security personnel.

The PNP Supervisory Office for Security and Investigation Agencies oversees private security agencies, while PNP SOSIA Security Training Board Resolution No. 2024-01 guides security training. The resolution’s guidelines are not publicly available.

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