MANILA – His colleagues at the House of Representatives plan to file an ethics complaint against Rep. John Bertiz III (ACTS OFW party-list) for arguing with security personnel at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Around 44 representatives from the minority are already set to trigger an investigation by the committee on ethics, House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez said on Monday.
“We’re gathering all the narratives of the event … I have consulted the leaders of the minority … We may have to take this up with the ethics committee,” he said.
Bertiz drew flak from netizens for supposedly refusing to remove his shoes as part of security protocol under Security Condition Level 2 at the NAIA Terminal 2 in a video that had gone viral on Sunday.
Suarez said they are still waiting if any outside party would file an ethics complaint against Bertiz. If there none, the representatives will file the complaint, he said.
“We’ll initiate it. We will definitely [push] for [an] investigation on what happened,” said Suarez. “Marami na nga iyong lumalabas na issue. That’s precisely the reason we’re calling for a deeper investigation.”
APOLOGY
Bertiz admitted in a news conference on Monday he committed a mistake but he insisted that the airport security personnel must apply protocols to all passengers, including foreigners.
“Humihingi po ako ng paumanhin sa publiko lalung-lalo na sa netizens,” he said. “Iyong pagkaka-post ng video at pagkakalagay ng caption. Ganoon pa man, merong other side of the story.”
“Ang nangyari po, sinita ko ang NAIA security checker na si Hamilton Abdul matapos niyang palusutin sa security check ang ilang Chinese-looking nationals na may escort na NAIA staff,” said Bertiz.
He added: “Kung nakikita niyo sa CCTV nagsasalita ako sa kanya in a nice way, sabi kong ganoon, ‘Meron naman akong level 4 na security ID, hindi ko naman sinasabi na hubarin (ang sapatos) pero sana pinahubad mo rin ang nauna sa akin.
“Tapos sabi ko doon ‘Sir, siguro bago ka pa hindi mo pa alam ang usual protocol.’ And he was so rude and arrogant. ‘Tatlong taon na ako dito no, ano ba iyang ID mo? Sino ka ba?’ Ginanon ako.”
This was not the first time Bertiz was involved in a viral video.
Just last week the congressman was caught saying Professional Regulation Commission licenses will not be granted to those who do not know Special Assistant to the President Christopher “Bong” Go.
There was also another video of Bertiz arguing with an overseas Filipino worker abroad but the party-list congressman said he was just carried away by his emotions.
NO SPECIAL TREATMENT
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque reminded government officials to follow President Rodrigo Duterte’s “example” of not seeking special treatment when it comes to security regulations.
“Even the President complies with the security checks of the airport. He goes through the X-ray machine and he does not ask for special treatment,” Roque told a Palace briefing on Monday.
But Roque distanced from commenting directly on Bertiz’s behavior toward the airport official. He said the Palace will wait for the results of the Department of Transportation’s investigation into the incident.
“I would rather wait until after the investigation because right now we really don’t know what happened. We will issue a statement when we have received the official investigation report from NAIA,” Roque said.
He added: “Let’s learn by way of example from what the President is doing. He does not ask for any special treatment. The President really insists, even if he is in a convoy, to follow traffic rules and traffic lights.”/PN
