Letterman was wrong: Customs official harassed Hollywood actor in Indonesia, not PHL

A Canadian actor's encounter with a corrupt airport Customs official could have happened in the Philippines, which is why some Manila-based news sites wrote gleefully about his story as told to US "Late Show" television host David Letterman. But it didn't happen in the Philippines. If it did occur, it could have been in Indonesia. Letterman mentioned the Philippines in passing during an interview with film and television actor Taylor Kitsch, who told Letterman about the airport Customs official who gave him a hard time and gave strong hints that an iPhone would make entry into the country easier.   Kitsch did not correct Letterman’s mistaken identification of the Philippines as the country where he worked on the movie "Savages."   A quick probe by Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon revealed that there was no record of Kitsch entering the Philippines. Besides, a movie shot in the Philippines and directed by Oliver Stone, and which also stars John Travolta, would have excited Filipino fans at least as much as "The Bourne Legacy," which just finished shooting in the Philippines. There had been no previous news about a "Savages" production in the Philippines, so Letterman's claim should have raised media eyebrows.   Although Kitsch did not mention the Philippines, local news sites hastily reported that the incident happened in the country, even mentioning the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).   The reports also failed to note the inconsistencies in the account of Kitsch, who said a Customs official who was smoking a cigarette looked at his passport. Smoking is not allowed in Philippine airports except in designated lounges, and customs officers only check baggage declarations, not passports. Shooting in Indonesia According to the web site Balifilm.com, the recent shooting for "Savages" "took place over six days on the island of Moyo, Nusa Tenggara Barat (Eastern Indonesia)." The "Late Show" video of the episode is on YouTube where the recording’s caption says Kitsch “runs into some trouble on his way to work in the Philippines.”   In the video, Kitsch narrated how a "Customs' official" almost did not let him through.   On his blog, Biazon went into considerable detail on the inquiries he made. “It is with seriousness that I take into account the story related by Canadian actor Taylor Kitsch in an interview on the Late Show with David Letterman. As soon as it came to my attention, I immediately conducted an inquiry into his allegation,” Biazon narrated.   He explained that his concern “stems from the fact that such an allegation not only puts the Bureau of Customs (which I head) in a bad light but the country as well. For the past five months, I have been trying to reverse the negative image of the BOC, so incidents like this undermine those efforts.”   Biazon's checks with his own subordinates and with officials at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and the Bureau of Immigration yielded conclusive findings that Kitsch did not enter the Philippines. "Looking further into the story of Mr. Kitsch, I inquired with our NAIA Customs Office for records of Mr. Kitsch’s declaration form, just to be sure. If he had submitted a declaration form, then I would have reviewed the CCTV footage of his arrival, to verify his story and determine the personnel involved. But there was no declaration submitted," the customs chief said. "I coordinated with the Bureau of Immigration to check their records for the entry of Mr. Kitsch. After a thorough search, Immigration did not find an arrival entry for Mr. Kitsch," Biazon added. In the end, there was no evidence that the incident occurred in the Philippines, and only a simple conclusion that Letterman and Kitsch probably got their Southeast Asian island countries mixed up.  — with Rouchelle Dinglasan/ELR/HS/YA, GMA News