Editorial: Jumpy Liberal Party

LIBERAL Party (LP) officials have rightly gotten flak for being jumpy over the incident involving Provincial Election Supervisor Lionel Marco Castillano. But we are right smack into the election season, so expect the LP in Cebu not to back off to save face.

A picture, they say, speaks a thousand words. But in the Castillano case, the picture published by another local paper invited a thousand interpretations. For the LP, Castillano’s hand gesture caught on camera showed bias for Rep. Pablo John Garcia, the One Cebu gubernatorial bet.

But Castillano’s explanation and the result of reviews of the video footage taken by media people who covered the filing by Garcia of his certificate of candidacy tended to mesh. The claim by Castillano that he was merely teasing Garcia’s child does sound believable.

But not if LP gubernatorial bet Hilario “Junjun” Davide III and his running mate, Vice Gov. Agnes Magpale, know something about Castillano that we are clueless about. So does the LP have evidence other than that incident that would show Castillano’s bias for One Cebu?

The Castillano case, together with that incident involving Cebu City North Election Officer Marchel Sarno, showed the need for election officials to avoid being caught in awkward position with candidates so as not to open themselves up to accusations of bias.

Sarno was caught on camera sharing a meal with controversial businessman and boxing promoter Rex “Wakee” Salud, whose candidacy for mayor in Cordova is facing problems caused by his supposed lack of residency in the town.

But the Castillano incident also made the LP, which raised the issue against the election official, look petty. If it cannot present other circumstances that would tend to show Castillano’s bias, then its officials deserve the flak for acting on something based on their mere interpretation of a scene caught on camera.

Making conclusions without first gathering facts does not speak well of the LP officials’ manner of doing things. It shows lack of conscientious bent, which is not good for governance. And it conjures subjectivity, which is on the same level as bias.