ACTS OFW party-list Representative John Bertiz III has apologized anew for his behavior in the viral video showing him seemingly refusing to follow airport protocols at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA)
Speaking in front of members of the press on Monday, Bertiz humbly asked for forgiveness after he got criticized for skipping security measures at the airport by refusing to remove his shoes and harassing an airport staff by shoving his ID to the screening officer’s face.
“I am really sorry. I should not have acted that way. It’s very [inappropriate] for a public official to act that way,” he said.
He then went on to explain that his behavior can be likened to women who become irritable at times during their monthly menstrual period.
“For the past three years that I have been a member of Congress, once a year, I have my ‘monthly period’,” Bertiz said.
“I’m only human. I become sensitive and get hot-headed because of work-related stress,” he continued.
Bertiz has previously apologized in an interview with Unang Balita saying that he was only calling out the staff for allowing several “Chinese looking” passengers to pass without undergoing security check and exposed that escort system is prevalent in the airport.
However, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Ed Monreal said that they review the CCTV footage and did not see any “Chinese looking” passenger that went through security check before Bertiz.
Monreal also defended the airport personnel in the video saying that “he did what he was supposed to do to protect the airport.”
Meanwhile, a Filipino migrant group, United Filipinos in Hong Kong or “UNIFIL-MIGRANTE-HK”, called for the removal of Bertiz from office and accused the lawmaker of being “a fake OFW representative and habitual abuser of authority”.
