Italian man nabbed for bomb joke at airport

ILOILO CITY, Philippines — A bomb joke uttered at the Kalibo Airport in Kalibo, Aklan sent an Italian national to jail.

Cristiano de Angeles, 40, was arrested at 12:40 a.m. on Wednesday, as he was about to board an Air Asia flight to Busan, South Korea. He came from a vacation in Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan.

Senior Inspector Xamiel Meraña, chief of the Kalibo Airport Police Station, said de Angeles was at the check-in counter when the incident happened.

The suspect got a little cranky when he was informed of the rebooking fees. Further, when the check-in counter agent asked a security question of the contents of his baggage, the suspect allegedly replied that it's a bomb, Meraña said.

The suspect was subsequently arrested after the Air Asia management manifested that they were filing appropriate case against the suspect for violation of Presidential Decree 1727 (Anti-Bomb Joke Law) and Republic Act 9497 (Civil Aviation Security Act of 2008).

De Angeles is now detained at the Kalibo Airport Police Station, and an inquest case was filed against him yesterday, said Meraña. (FREEMAN)