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Sunday, March 07, 2004
Malilong: Derogatory report on Talisay
By Frank Malilong, Jr.
The Other Side
Talisay City Mayor Eduardo Gullas, usually slow to anger, went ballistic early yesterday morning. The cause of hizzoner’s anger: the headline story in yesterday’s issue of this paper that, quoting the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 and the Commission on Elections, named his city as one of the election areas of concern in the province.
“That is outrageous,” Eddiegul fumed. “Talisay is one of the most peaceful cities in the country. Our police force has just been cited as the best in the region. And they say that we need closer guarding on May 10?”
Gullas said the report is a result of poor intelligence work on the part of the police. But he absolved PRO 7 Director Rolando Garcia of any responsibility, saying lower-ranked police officials in the region plucked the basis for their appraisal of the peace and order situation in Talisay “from thin air.”
The mayor said he confronted Talisay Police Chief Pablo Lamosao on the reported presence of armed groups in Talisay and that the latter denied the existence of any such group. “I drive around Talisay almost every night,” he said, “and I`m proud to say that it is one of the most peaceful places one could ever be these days.”
“They can say nasty things about me,” Gullas said, “but they have to be fair in reporting about our city.” He bewailed that the police report may have put to naught all the efforts that they undertook in laying the groundwork for the city’s development. “We have built the necessary infrastructure for business to thrive but when the police say there are armed members of the communist-terrorist movement in Talisay, they’re simply driving the investors away.
The mayor said he intends to call Garcia to personally express his displeasure over the inclusion of Talisay as an area of concern. He said he has an idea as to who prepared the derogatory report but begged off from naming him or his motive. “I just want to clear the name of the city,” he said.
Gullas is not running for reelection but is instead seeking his old seat in Congress now held by his brother, who is retiring from politics.
***
The tendency of people to pretend what they are not (and perhaps will never be) never ceases to amaze me. I saw this most recently in the aftermath of the order of Cebu Regional Trial Court Judge Generosa Labra granting bail to Ruben Ecleo Jr. Oh, God, never have I seen so many non-lawyers pretentiously giving their expert opinion on how the judge should have acted on Ecleo’s application.
The most idiotic remark came from the media liaison officer of a left-leaning group who asked that Labra should start scouring the jails for “walking time bombs” in obvious reference to Ecleo’s claimed physical condition. For your information, sir, Judge Labra isn’t the only judge presiding in this corner of the world. And even if she is, it is not hers but somebody else’s job to bring the matter of the physical condition of an accused to the attention of the court.
Another lesson in Criminal Procedure 101: In cases where bail is not a matter of right, the grant of temporary liberty to an accused is discretionary on the part of the judge. If you believe that the judge abused his or her discretion, you go the appellate court, not to the streets.
(March 7, 2004 issue)
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