Airport brawl reveals lack of CCTVs

MANILA, Philippines - Transportation and Communications Secretary Manuel Roxas II yesterday said that the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3, site of the brawl between Inquirer columnist Ramon Tulfo and actor Raymart Santiago, did not have a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera system that could have recorded the incident.

The revelation came as the lawyer of Santiago and wife Claudine Barretto is set to file today before the Pasay City Prosecutor’s Office criminal cases of physical injuries and child abuse against the columnist for allegedly kicking the latter in front of her children.

Roxas said that the CCTV system was among the 23 systems that were not installed by NAIA Terminal 3 building sub-contractor Takenaka Corp., due to legal cases over the construction of the facility.

“There are some (areas monitored by CCTV) but not in that particular area,” he said, adding that there are CCTV systems for NAIA Terminals I and II and the Manila Domestic Airport.

Roxas said the Tulfo-Santiago fracas is not a reason to install a CCTV system at the terminals, especially for NAIA 3.

“To set up the CCTV system at the NAIA Terminal 3 as a result of the Tulfo-Santiago group brawl would be a knee-jerk reaction to an isolated incident,” he said.

Roxas stressed that if the personalities involved were not famous, the incident would not have gotten such attention and focus.

At the House of Representatives, Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez, vice chair of the House committee on tourism, filed a resolution calling for an immediate investigation into the lack of functioning CCTV cameras at the country’s premier airport facility.

She said if the reports are true, then the safety of passengers and tourists at the airport might be seriously compromised.

Santiago-Barretto hit back

Meanwhile, Santiago’s lawyer Alex Avisado said they are also filing child abuse case against Tulfo.

Avisado was supposed to accompany the couple to the Pasay prosecutor’s office but they postponed the filing to gather more evidence and witnesses.

The lawyer said they are focusing on the attack on Claudine because the incident traumatized the children, who are now undergoing therapy.

He said they have at least four eyewitnesses that will support their allegation and they will coordinate with the Pasay City police.

“We are building up a strong case,” he said, but declined to elaborate.

The lawyer also clarified that the physical abuse and grave coercion filed by Tulfo before the Pasay prosecutor will be consolidated with theirs because the case involves only one incident.

NAIA security guards could be liable

As this developed, Chief Superintendent Tomas Rentoy III, chief of the Supervisory Office for Security and Investigation Agencies (SOSIA) of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said an investigation is being conducted on the lapses of guards of the Lanting Security Agency that were assigned at the airport when the brawl occurred.

He said they can impose sanctions on security agencies, like suspension of license to operate, and are also looking into the culpability of the security guards, who might be suspended or face sanctions as the case warrants.

Rentoy noted that security guards should have proper training on how to prevent any commotion in their area of jurisdiction, preventing the physical confrontation similar to the Tulfo-Santiago brawl.

The police official, however, pointed out that the PNP-SOSIA is not party to the service contract between NAIA 3 and Lanting Security.

He said they also requested for copies of video clips, which would form part of the investigation and recommendation to prevent the occurrence of a similar incident.

Even before the probe is concluded, Rentoy said he saw the recorded footage and he could easily spot the lapses on the part of the guards.

He said that Tulfo’s attackers, including the celebrity couple and a man wearing a pink t-shirt and white shorts, should have been restrained and brought to the office for proper investigation.

Rentoy added that the SOSIA will be requiring security agencies to put up the necessary CCTV camera as part of efforts to secure areas of jurisdiction.

MTRCB charges ‘T3’

Meanwhile, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) has found probable cause to charge the television program “T3 Kapatid Sagot Kita,” hosted by brothers Raffy, Ben and Erwin Tulfo, for violation of certain provisions of broadcast ethics.

“Acting on numerous complaints from the general public and based on the Board’s own monitoring, the Office of the MTRCB Legal Counsel has found probable cause to charge the television program… aired over TV5, for violation of Section 3(c), PD 1986 for airing scenes and utterances that are indecent and contrary to law, or with a dangerous tendency to encourage the commission of violence or of a wrong or crime during its 07 May 2012 episode,” MTRCB chair Mary Grace Poe Llamanzares said in a statement.

The Board has endorsed the matter to the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) for appropriate action.

The Tulfo brothers, on the other hand, issued a public apology, saying they were just emotional over what happened.

TV5 also released a statement explaining that the actions and utterances of the Tulfos “do not in any way reflect the stand nor the policy of the network, its management, staff and employees.”

“While we understand the emotions at play during the broadcast, News5 does not and will never condone such behavior. It was not only uncalled for but runs counter to the established Code of Ethics that we all strictly adhere to.” – Perseus Echeminada, Cecille Suerte Felipe