Cebu Pacific partly to blame for airport brawl, says lawmaker

Rep. Teodoro Casiño: Cebu Pacific to blame. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Bayan Muna Representative Teodoro Casiño said that Cebu Pacific should shoulder part of the blame for the fistfight between actor Raymart Santiago and Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist Ramon Tulfo.

Casiño said Cebu Pacific’s incompetence was the spark for the melee on Sunday. Santiago’s wife, Claudine Barreto, was berating the Cebu Pacific ground crew for leaving their bags in Caticlan airport when Tulfo took photos of her.

“In a way that’s the trigger of all this brouhaha – if Claudine and Raymart’s baggage were not left behind without giving them notice, Tulfo wouldn’t have the chance to be a `miron,’ (observer)” said Casiño who himself has suffered from the shabby treatment of Cebu Pacific .

Casiño and other passengers were stranded at the Iloilo airport for seven hours in January after a Cebu Pacific plane malfunctioned. He has sought a congressional probe on Cebu Pacific and other airlines to look into ways on how to penalize them for their poor service and insensitivity to consumer complaints.

Casiño suggested that Cebu Pacific should provide the protagonists in the fistfight with free, round-trip tickets with a two-night stay in Boracay. “So they can mend fences and enjoy each others’ company in a less stressful environment,” said Casiño.

Eastern Samar Ben Evardone, a former journalist, condemned the beating of Tulfo as a “direct attack” on media.

“It is the inherent right of media and a basic instinct to gather and document facts and events. Mon’s action to take photos on the commotion at the airport was his right as a media man. The Santiagos have no right to prevent him from taking photos, much more to ask him from deleting the photos,” said Evardone in a statement.