A passenger bound for Manila was arrested on Sunday evening for allegedly cracking a bomb joke while boarding a plane at the Davao International Airport.

Davao International Airport police arrested a 59-year-old female passenger from Pangasinan after one of the agents of Cebu Pacific customer service reported the incident.

"It was revealed that during the boarding process, a certain passenger allegedly uttered a bomb joke to one of the airline's flight attendant that prompted duty personnel who received the report to respond and immediately arrest the passenger," the DIAPS report stated.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, the Cebu Pacific flight 5J97 was carrying 221 passengers and was scheduled to depart from Davao to Manila about 15 minutes before the bomb joke was reported.

The flight was delayed for more than two hours due to the incident.

"The rest of the passengers were then deplaned and the aircraft was repositioned to a designated isolation bay where all checked-in baggage and hand-carried items were re-screened as part of security protocol. After satisfactorily ensuring the safety of the aircraft, the flight proceeded to its destination and departed the airport at 09:11 PM of the same day," the CAAP media advisory stated.

• Lalaking nag-bomb joke sa bus sa Davao City tiklo, nahulihan ng droga
• Suspek sa bomb threat sa isang eskwelahan sa QC, nahuli na

Police said the passenger will face raps for violation of Presidential Decree 1727, or the “Anti-Bomb Joke Law,” for malicious dissemination of false information or willful making of any threat concerning bombs, explosives and any similar device or means of destruction.

She was brought to the Davao International Airport Police Station for investigation and temporarily detained at the Panacan Relocation Police Sub-Station.—Report from Hernel Tocmo