Bertiz to surrender his MIAA access pass

FILE: ACTS-OFW Representative John Bertiz III. (Photo: Cong. John Bertiz/Facebook)

After he was under fire for his viral video over the weekend, ACTS-OFW Representative Ancieto “John” Bertiz III on Tuesday, October 2, said he will ‘surrender’ his access pass issued by the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA).

“Ipapa-surrender ko na ‘to (I will surrender this). To be fair, kasi (because) I don’t want my fellow congressmen and other holders of my ID (identification card) ay madamay pa (to get implicated),” Bertiz said in an interview on ABS-CBN’s Umagang Kay Ganda.

“Never ko naman pong nagamit ‘yon eh, except only if it is official na may dumating na bangkay ng OFW (overseas Filipino worker) or may nagkaproblema sa airport. Pero on my twice a week or once a week travel sa mga regional offices natin, hindi ko nagamit (I never use this, except if a dead body of an OFW was brought or there is a problem in the airport. But on my twice a week or once a week travel to our regional offices, I do not use it),” he stressed.

“It so happened [that] that’s the only ID that I have in the bag to present for boarding pass and check-in counter,” he continued.

Last Saturday, September 29, Bertiz drew the ire of many after he confronted a security checker, identified as Hamilton Abdul, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

In a viral closed-circuit television (CCTV) video, Bertiz was seen passing through a metal detector at the airport when the security checker seemed to tell him to remove his shoes. Other passengers caught in the video were seen barefooted.

The lawmaker, however, then showed his ID to the security checker’s face and then, later on, snatched the latter’s ID off his jacket.

Addressing the security checker in his interview, Bertiz uttered, “Patawarin mo ako doon sa aking inasal. Hindi tama ‘yun bilang isang kinatawan ng gobyerno or empleyado ng gobyerno (Forgive me for the way I acted. It is not right for someone who represents the government or a government employee).”

Bertiz already apologized for the way he acted at the NAIA and likened his behavior to a woman who is going through her monthly menstrual period.

This did not sit well with Gabriela Women’s Party Representative Emmi de Jesus.

“Kaming mga babae ay walang problema sa regla. Ang isyu ay ang arogansya nya (We, women, do not have problems with our period. The issue here is his arrogance),” de Jesus said.

“Women should not be stereotyped as arrogant and entitled during their menstrual period. Huwag nyang idamay ang kababaihan kasi siya ang may problema (Do not involve women here because he is the one who has a problem),” she added.

Meanwhile, the House minority bloc on Monday said it might file an ethics complaint against Bertiz.

According to Minority Leader Danilo Suarez, they are still waiting for outside parties to file an ethics complaint, but if there is none, the lawmakers themselves will do it.

This was not the first time Bertiz drew flaw. Just last week, he earned criticisms for joking that the new batch of agricultural and biosystems engineers will not get their Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) licenses if they do not know Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Christopher “Bong” Go.

[READ: Rep. Bertiz apologizes over no PRC license viral video]