Frank Malilong
THE OTHER SIDE

October 13, 2004
Ouano shouldn't go to court

DID or didn't he? If, as a local newspaper reported last Friday, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez indeed said that one of the warehouses that was raided for shabu recently was owned by Mandaue City Mayor Thadeo Ouano, then he must prove it. Even a law freshman is familiar with the concept of onus probandi.

There is one way for Gonzalez to prove what he said, assuming he did say it: file a case against Ouano in court and secure a conviction. If he can't do either, he should resign. That's the honorable thing to do.

On the other hand, if he didn't say what he was reported to have said and can prove it, the newspaper has a lot of explaining to do, not so much to Ouano as to its readers. Libel is defensible especially if there is no malice. It's the loss of credibility that can be more damaging.

Ouano has every reason to be upset. He had been crucified for failing to discover the presence of the facilities for manufacturing shabu in his city but no one has dared directly accuse him of involvement in the illegal drugs business. The report quoting Gonzalez went farther beyond innuendo.

But should Ouano sue for libel? If it is his image he's concerned with, the filing of the complaint could be interpreted two ways, depending on one's personal bias: one, that he is innocent and is genuinely hurting from the baseless of allegations; the other, that he is pretending pain in order to save face.

It is not easy being the target of the slings and arrows of bad and unfair commentary. But when you`re in public service, these come with the territory. Rather than run to court, Ouano and his family should learn to find comfort in the temple of a clear conscience.

By the way, when the name of his younger brother Rafael surfaced in earlier reports on the ownership of one of the warehouses, the mayor's comment was a curt "I am not my brother's keeper." Now the shoe is on the other foot. What does Paeng say?

I know Paeng. I see him almost every day playing tennis at Baseline with a group called the Cebu Commercial Tennis Club. On a few times, I placed a P100 bet on his game. On the fewer times that I won, he deducted the 10 percent cut charged by their club. If he were into the shabu business, I do not think he would have scrimped for a measly P10 with a friend.

(e-mail: fmmjr@skyinet.net)