Palace tells Taylor Kitsch: It's more fun in Phl

MANILA, Philippines - Canadian-born actor Taylor Kitsch should “come over” and “apologize” for the damage he caused the country, by putting in a bad light Customs officials even if he was victimized in Indonesia, not the Philippines, a Palace official said yesterday.

“It is more fun in the Philippines. So come on over and apologize,” Secretary Edwin Lacierda, spokesman of President Aquino, told reporters in a briefing.

“The Philippines is strongly identified as a country which had – which tried – to extort money from him, and I think certainly it’s an injustice to our country,” he said.

Lacierda said the actor’s statement “demeaned” the country and an apology “would be a proper and decent response.” 

Bureau of Customs Commissioner Rufino Biazon said the actor was in Indonesia, not in the Philippines, when he allegedly received rough treatment from a Customs officer. 

On the “Late Show with David Letterman,” Kitsch alleged that an unidentified Customs officer demanded that he be given an iPhone in exchange for not being sent back to Japan, his port of origin.

A clip of the Kitsch interview on CBS.com shows Letterman asking about the supposed Philippine film shoot of director Oliver Stone’s “Savages.” Kitsch did not dispute the name of the country.

Biazon said some scenes of the film were shot in Indonesia recently.