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The President of Palau found himself stuck in Manila
after missing his flight home for refusing to be patted down by
airport workers who didn’t know who he was, officials and
reports said Thursday.
Airport staff asked to perform a
routine security check on President Tommy Remengesau Jr., after
senior Philippine officials said goodbye to the leader at Manila
airport’s VIP lounge on Wednesday night.
The president, who had just
wrapped up a two-day state visit, refused and instead opted to miss
his flight back to his Pacific island nation, along with his wife
and some ministers.
Embarrassed airport staff later
discovered their mistake.
Manila airport General Manager
Alfonso Cusi said he has launched an investigation into the
incident, but he said the government has apologized for the fiasco.
“We still have to investigate
what really went wrong,” Cusi said. “We had asked that he be
exempted [from the check], but security personnel did not grant the
exemption.”
Palau’s embassy declined
comment when reached by phone, but its Ambassador, Ramon Rechebei,
was quoted in local press reports as saying that the Philippine
government had promised to provide a private plane for Remengesau
and his entourage, who departed later Thursday.
--AFP
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