MANILA – Gabriela Party-list Rep. Emmi de Jesus on Monday slammed ACTS-OFW Rep. Aniceto “John” Bertiz III for likening his “arrogant” behavior at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to a woman having her “monthly period.”
De Jesus said women should not be stereotyped as “arrogant and entitled” during their menstrual period.
“Kaming mga babae ay walang problema sa regla. Ang isyu ay ang arogansya niya. Huwag niyang idamay ang kababaihan kasi siya ang may problema (We do not have issues with our menstruation. The issue here is his (Bertiz’) arrogance. He should not involve women because he has problems),” she said.
Bertiz was caught on a CCTV security video on Sept. 29 allegedly refusing to remove his shoes as part of NAIA’s security measure and snatching off the ID of the airport personnel identified as Hamilton Abdul.
In a press conference on Monday, Bertiz apologized for the NAIA incident, a video of which went viral, as he likened his behavior to having a “once a year monthly period.”
“For the past three years that I’ve been a member of Congress, once a year na medyo dapuan po tayo ng monthly period ay hindi ko na rin po maiaalis na tao lang po, na marupok at umiinit ang ulo, naii-stress din sa trabaho (once a year I get a monthly period… I’m only human, who tends to be fragile, hot-tempered, and could get stressed from work),” he said. (Filane Mikee Cervantes/PNA)
