A Filipino actor was arrested at Manila airport after joking that he had a bomb, local radio reported on July 5.

Jay Manalo, a 34-year-old actor, was taken into custody at about 9 a.m. as he was about to board his Philippine Airlines flight at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Centennial Terminal 2, according to a report by dzBB radio.

Airport security authority said that Manalo quipped that he had a bomb in his luggage. He was supposed to leave for Palawan in west Philippines.

Manalo, star of several award-winning films, was still under airport security custody as of press time.

Two months ago, another Filipino actor John Estrada was held for a similar offense in General Santos City, the southern Philippines. Estrada refused to have his belongings searched at that time, prompting security personnel to briefly detain him.