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Wednesday, June 04, 2003
Editorial: Not a ‘small matter’
Instead of dismissing the accusation of two PNP members against a Talisay City councilor as a “small matter,” Cebu province police chief Maximo Calimlim can lead a quick but thorough resolution of the case.
True or not, the charge of PO2 Noel Villamor and PO2 Leopoldo Palconit against City Councilor Emil Go deserves investigation. The two cops have blamed the councilor for their transfer from Talisay following police operations against illegal video carrera units allegedly owned by Go.
If Villamor and Palconit made up the case against Go, say, to cover up their own sin or failure, then they must be sanctioned, which can include their being kicked out from the service.
On the other hand, if the two cops were telling the truth, the PNP officialdom must encourage them to come out and testify. Not only that it’s what is right, it shows that the cops have their superiors’ support in enforcing the law even if they tread on powerful politicians’ toes.
Calimlim’s lack of candidness to reporters, whom he reportedly advised to become cops first to understand how things work at PNP, invites suspicion about his agenda.
His personnel as well the public might suspect that he does not want Villamor and Palconit to tell what they know about Go. The delay in the submission of affidavits indicates some uncertainty, if not distrust, about how their boss stands on the issue.
We agree with Councilor Go that the accusers show their evidence. The accusation is hurting his image as a public official and citizen.
Chief Calimlim must be equally insistent on seeing what his two cops have, but he needs to instill courage, not fear, in Villamor and Palconit who know only too well their odds against the politicos.
To be sure, anything that stalls the investigation and shapes public perception about the case cannot be a “small matter.”
Not the whole truth
Jesuit author Anthony de Mello in his book “The Song of the Bird” writes about a shopper coming to a shop named The Truth Shop.
What type of truth did he want to buy, a saleswoman asked him. “The whole truth, of course. No deceptions for me, no defenses, no rationalizations,” the shopper said, wanting his truth “plain and unadulterated.”
The saleswoman directed him to another part of the shop where a salesman pointed to the price tag. What is it, the shopper asked, determined to get the whole truth no matter what it cost. “Your security, sir,” the salesman said.
The shopper went away, de Mello wrote, with a heavy heart. He could not pay the stiff price: “I will still need the safety of my unquestioned beliefs.”
Like the shopper, journalists as truth seekers can only get part of the truth.
When the Cebu Archdiocese, in its World Day of Communications message last Sunday, called on media to report the truth, it could not have asked for the whole truth.
The Archdiocese knows the imperfections of people, the flaws of the system, the entrenchment of the lie in government and other sectors that media covers.
James Deakin, who reported on the White House for 25 years, said in his book “Straight Stuff” that attempts at getting the truth can only get approximations of it.
If media could only approximate the approximations, that would be good enough, Deakin said.
It’s the kind of truth the journalist can afford to buy in the Truth Shop.
(June 4, 2003 issue)
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