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In fresh apology, solon admits impulsiveness in NAIA security row

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ABS-CBN News

MANILA - Apologizing anew on Monday, party-list lawmaker John Bertiz admitted that he had been &quot;impulsive&quot; when he confronted a security screener at the country&#x27;s main airport after refusing to remove his shoes during a routine security check.In a clip uploaded by several Facebook pages, the ACTS-OFW partylist representative can be seen passing through a metal detector at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminal 2, while supposedly refusing to remove his shoes.He then raised what appeared to be his security ID, inches away from the face of a screener manning the area. The congressman snatched off the airport personnel&#x27;s own ID, walking away with it and out of the video&#x27;s frame. &quot;There is absolutely no justification for the way I conducted myself. I sincerely apologize not only to the security assistant that I confronted, but also to the public for my actions,&quot; Bertiz said in a statement. &quot;I offer my sincere apology to the public for being impulsive on what had happened during my course with the NAIA staff,&quot; he added. Bertiz on Sunday issued a 1-sentence apology, but alleged that the NAIA staff let some &quot;Chinese-looking passengers,&quot; who were escorted by airport staff, breeze through the checkpoint without taking off their shoes. The incident, he said, was &quot;spliced&quot; off from the video that made rounds online. In his latest statement, Bertiz said that though he has his own reasons for his behavior at the airport, he acknowledges that as a representative for OFWs, &quot;I should act diligently in conformity with the ethical standard of [a] public official.&quot; He said he has asked Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Ed Monreal &quot;not to take any action&quot; against the airport screener he confronted. The Office for Transportation Security, meanwhile, said Bertiz <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/10/01/18/solon-in-viral-airport-video-definitely-breached-protocols-officials">&quot;definitely&quot; violated protocol</a> in snatching off the screener&#x27;s ID. House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez said his bloc may file an ethics case against Bertiz over the incident.

Apologizing anew on Monday, congressman John Bertiz admitted that he had been "impulsive" when he confronted a security screener at the country's main airport in connection with a policy for removing shoes before going through metal detectors.

Apologizing anew on Monday, congressman John Bertiz admitted that he had been "impulsive" when he confronted a security screener at the country's main airport in connection with a policy for removing shoes before going through metal detectors.