A Security Screening Officer (SSO), who allegedly stole a watch from a Chinese national at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1, has been arrested, the Office for Transportation Security (OTS) said on Wednesday.

According to OTS, the suspect identified as Valeriano Diaz Ricaplaza was caught taking the passenger's smart watch in closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage.

"He was brought to the CCTV room to view the incident himself, and was immediately arrested and now in the custody of the PNP - AVSEGROUP for further questioning," it said in a statement.

The OTS said the stealing was detected by OTS regional heads and terminal chiefs during their regular inspection, monitoring, and overseeing of the airport's security operations.

"This is one of the actions undertaken by the OTS management to address longstanding issues on lack of effective supervision, that prevents the effective suppression of illegal activities at the screening checkpoint," it said.

The reported stealing comes after the OTS preventively suspended two SSOs who allegedly extorted money from a departing Thai tourist at NAIA Terminal 2.