MANILA – ACTS OFW Party-list Rep. Aniceto Bertiz III on Wednesday apologized after a video went viral on his “inappropriate” joke during a mass oath-taking ceremony for the passers of the Agricultural and Biosystems Engineers Licensure Exam.
The viral video showed that Bertiz cracked a joke about Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Christopher “Bong” Go, saying that the new passers who do not know him would not receive their Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) licenses.
“Yung hindi nakakakilala kay Secretary Bong Go, walang PRC license mamaya (Those who don’t know Secretary Bong Go will not get their PRC license later),” Bertiz was quoted as saying during the event held in a Manila Tuesday.
In a statement, Bertiz said he takes “full responsibility” for his “inappropriate” remark, stressing that Go has nothing to do with the joke he cracked during the ceremony.
Bertiz was the representative of Go, who was invited as the special guest and keynote speaker at the oath-taking ceremony.
“I take full responsibility on what I have said; SAP Bong Go has nothing to do with it. I didn’t mean to anger, belittle, or offend in any way. It was an inappropriate joke, and I really feel sorry for it,” Bertiz said.
He added that what he said was meant to break the ice and it was said in jest.
“It was more of like, ‘Ang hindi pumalakpak, mamamatay (Those who don’t clap will die)’ kind of joke in stand-up comedies,” Bertiz said. (Filane Mikee Cervantes/PNA)
