MANILA, Philippines - Both are claiming the other camp struck the first blow.
Actor Raymart Santiago and columnist Ramon Tulfo swapped charges of physical injuries and grave coercion before the Pasay City police and the Pasay City Prosecutor’s Office yesterday over the brawl that occurred on Sunday at the arrival area of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.
Chief Inspector Joel Templora Goforth, chief of the Pasay City criminal investigation division, said the first to file a complaint was Rozella Raymond
Martin Santiago (Raymart Santiago), his wife Claudine Barretto, and a certain Eduardo Attilano, who accused Tulfo of attacking their group twice at the airport.
Initial police investigation revealed that Santiago’s party arrived from Boracay at noon Sunday and were complaining to Cebu Pacific staff about their luggage that were off-loaded and left by airline personnel at the Aklan airport without informing them.
Based on a Cebu Pacific incident report, the Santiago couple, their children and some friends arrived last Sunday before noon at the NAIA Terminal 3 after a weekend vacation in Boracay.
The report said that Barretto, who was irked, went to the Cebu Pacific counter and berated airline ground staff Cid Charisse Bocboc and Kristina Anne Ilagan in full view of the other passengers.
Tulfo, who also arrived at the same terminal from Davao, witnessed the tongue lashing of the actress and “took pictures” of the incident.
According to Santiago, he approached Tulfo and asked him what he was doing and without any provocation the journalist allegedly punched and kicked him but security guards and airport personnel were able to pacify them.
Police report said that Claudine approached Tulfo after the initial scuffle took place and asked him what was his problem.
But instead of replying, the columnist allegedly kicked her twice and a second round of fistfight ensued, this time involving Claudine.
NAIA terminal 3 manager Octavio Lina said that the exact location where the reported brawl happened is not covered by close circuit television (CCTV) cameras.
In a radio interview Santiago claimed that it was Tulfo who started the fight and he only reacted when his wife was attacked.
“What will you do if a man kicked your wife?” he said.
Claudine, on the other hand, said that Tulfo kicked her twice and showed her bruised left leg to prove her point.
Santiago said they were complaining because the off-loaded luggage contained the medicine of the child of his companion.
He added that the video uploaded on YouTube was the second round of the scuffle at the airport and the whole story would be known if the videos of the first round would also be made public.
In an interview with GMA 7 last night, Santiago said he could accept the punches that he received from Tulfo but would not take the physical abuse that his wife received from the journalist nor the trauma suffered by his children due to the incident.
He said the footage shown on YouTube does not reflect the whole story because it only shows the latter part of the incident.
“I won’t back down,” he said at one point during the interview, but later opted to keep his silence for now as the couple’s lawyer prepared to file counter-charges.
Tulfo: Your word against mine
But Tulfo had a different version of the incident.
During the same interview, Tulfo said he was at first sympathetic with Claudine because of her problem with Cebu Pacific, but had a change of heart because the actress was giving the ground personnel a dressing down.
He said he was able to fight his attackers but was overwhelmed when the police officers came. He also denied instigating the brawl and said he was just doing his job as a journalist.
In his complaint before the Pasay City Prosecutor’s Office, he said that it was Santiago who punched him when he refused to give the cell phone he used in taking the photo of Claudine berating a ground staff of Cebu Pacific.
He told reporters that he mistook Claudine for a relative of the owner of Cebu Pacific because she was dropping the name of Lance Gokongwei.
He said he used his cell phone to take pictures but a man he did not recognize approached him and tried to get his phone.
Tulfo said the man, who turned out to be Santiago, punched him and several others joined in beating him up.
Lawyer Mario Heneral, Tulfo’s legal counsel, said his client suffered severe injuries in the right eye and neck.
He said they are still waiting for the final medical examination report to determine the charges they would file.
Police Officer 2 Joel Landicho, investigator-on-case, said they will conduct a re-enactment of the scuffle and will also request footage of the CCTV at the airport before they submit the final report on the case.
Tulfo’s brothers Erwin, Raffy and Ben had harsh words for Barretto and Santiago in their TV program T3.
Erwin even challenged Santiago to “have coffee” with him and said that had he been with his older brother during the incident, it would have been “another story.”
A witness who introduced herself as “Anna,” meanwhile, told GMA 7 that Tulfo threw the first punch.
Anna, who was in the area when the incident happened, said that the uploaded video of the melee doesn’t tell the real story.
She said Tulfo kicked and hit Barretto when the latter was trying to get his cell phone, which he used in taking the pictures.
Off-loaded luggage
Cebu Pacific vice president for Marketing and Distribution Candice Iyog said that flight 5J 896 from Caticlan to Manila last Sunday had to off-load some luggage due to the weight limitation on planes because of Catclan airport’s short runway, which is being implemented for safety reasons.
She said the off-loaded bags were loaded on the next available Kalibo-Manila flight on the same day and have been delivered to the owners, including the luggage of Barretto and Santiago.
“We regret the inconvenience this may have caused our guests and we hope for their understanding as their safety is our primary concern,” Iyog said.
Airport authorities said they are keeping a hands off policy on the reported scuffle, saying it is only an isolated case.
Although the case can be considered as public scandal, no formal charges have been filed by the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) officials against the personalities involved.
“It is no big deal,” Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Jose Angel Honrado said, adding that the MIAA did not pursue a follow-up investigation and will just “let the court decide because we’re not competent enough to determine who threw the first punch.”
Meanwhile, Agham party-list Rep. Angelo Palmones said the incident might affect Santiago’s chances at entering politics.
The actor is reportedly one of the nominees of a party-list group that is seeking accreditation with the Commission on Elections.
As far as Malacañang is concerned, the reported attack on Tulfo by Santiago and Barretto cannot be likened to an attack on the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of the press.
“Let’s not do inductive reasoning here and we do not wish to be drawn into that particular scuffle between the Santiagos and Mr. Tulfo,” said presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda, as he does not want the government to be dragged into the controversy. – Rudy Santos, Rainier Allan Ronda, Paolo Romero, Delon Porcalla, Reinir Padua