tanim-bala

Tagalog

Etymology

From tanim (“plant”) +‎ bala (“bullet”). Popularized in September 2015.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /taˌnim ˈbala/ [t̪ɐˌn̪im ˈbaː.lɐ]
• Rhymes: -ala
• Syllabification: ta‧nim-ba‧la

Noun

taním-bala (Baybayin spelling ᜆᜈᜒᜋ᜔ᜊᜎ)

1. (literally) bullet-planting
2. a modus operandi wherein airport security personnel plant bullets on travelers' luggage and extort money from them

Further reading

• Ninoy Aquino International Airport bullet planting scandal on Wikipedia.Wikipedia