Manila: A popular newspaper columnist figured in an exchange of blows with an actor on Sunday afternoon over a missing luggage at the airport, reports said.
Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist Ramon Tulfo landed at Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 (NAIA 3) from Davao City when he noticed an altercation at the arrival area, the columnist said in a radio station dzBB report.
Tulfo said that noticed that a woman, whom he later recognised as actress Claudine Baretto who had arrived at the NAIA 3 from a flight from Aklan on a Cebu Pacific flight after a holiday in Boracay.
The actress, who was with her two children, was incensed because one of her luggage was missing. She vented her ire on the Cebu Pacific personnel.
The columnist said he tried to pacify Barretto after recognising the actress. After a brief pause, the actress again continued her tirades against the airline personnel.
Tulfo said that he decided to record the scene with his phone camera when suddenly Barretto's husband Raymart Santiago accosted him and grabbed his camera phone. An exchange of blows ensured as several other men identified to be with the companions of the actor ganged up on the columnist.
The parties were only pacified after airport police and security guards arrived at the scene minutes after the fight broke out.
A video grab showed in the ABS-CBN website showed Tulfo nursing a swollen left eye as a result of the fisticuffs.
Both men had a reputation for not backing off from a fight. Tulfo had gain a reputation for his no-holds-barred newspaper columns and had once hosted an anti-corruption television programme.
Santiago and Barretto on the other hand, had figured in several cases in court.
Both sides said they are planning to file cases in court in connection with the incident. Authorities are reviewing the closed circuit television security camera footages of the scene.
Claudine starred in the Filipino movie "Dubai" in 2005 together with co-stars Aga Muhlach and John Lloyd Cruz.
