A drunken British national exchanged punches with policemen at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport around 11 p.m. Tuesday.
It was like watching a live boxing match as Arthur Stilgrove, 59, figured in a fistfight with two airport police officers after arriving on board a Korean Airlines flight from the United States.
It all began when Stilgrove was reprimanded by Immigration Officer Armelo Castro when the foreigner lined up on the counter intended for Filipino passengers. Stilgrove's anger was stirred more when he got disappointed after failing to fill out an immigration arrival card.
The drunken man started cursing Castro who was behind the counter. Later, Stilgrove became uncontrollable when the officer told him that he will not be allowed to the country because of his unruly behavior.
Instead of regaining himself, the foreigner got more furious when the airport police started to intervene. And when the police officer tried to hold Stilgrove at the airport's arrival area, he punched one of them. The police were left no choice but to handcuff the drunken man.
According to Stilgrove, he was outraged because the airport authorities were holding him.
He also said he told the immigration officer that he should be allowed to enter the Philippines because he is not breaking the law. He said he came to the country to visit his wife identified as Leonora de Guzman Stilgrove. Stilgrove even claimed that his wife was already waiting for him at the Bayview Park Hotel in Manila.
As of last report, airport officials are awaiting word from airline management on Stilgrove's flight back to the US.