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Thursday, February 09, 2006
Editorials: Surfacing of Sumabong
Land Bank-Bogo robbery suspect Joel Sumabong may have finally surfaced but it looks like his testimony and statements, instead of focusing only on the case filed in court, has conjured peripheral issues that could muddle it.
The discussion has shifted to the political, or the exchange between Bogo Mayor Celestino Martinez III and his parents, on one side, and Cebu Provincial Police Office Director Vicente Loot, husband of Daanbantayan Mayor Ma. Luisa Loot, on the other.
The verbal tussle has reduced the matter into a his/her-word-against-mine situation, which is not helping any in clarifying the issues being presented.
Bank robbery
The focus there should first be on the bank robbery case, whose proceedings have not moved since the arrest of the other suspect, Dindo Ancero.
Sumabong, who claimed he was merely a lookout, has presented his own version of what happened and implicated a number of people and not only the Bogo mayor.
Though the testimony still needs to be corroborated by other witnesses and checked with the evidence at hand, it should give investigators new leads to pursue and speed up the gathering of relevant information.
Other issues
This does not mean that the other claims of Sumabong are less important, especially on Martinez’s supposed plan to kill Loot and other personalities.
Probe on the matter should be pursued considering the seriousness of the claim.
To be fair, however, the allegation of the Martinezes that their political enemies are using Sumabong to destroy their chances in next year’s polls should be looked into.
After all, Sumabong’s surfacing and his earlier act of distributing VCDs to media outlets when he first raised the allegation against the Bogo mayor has been considered suspicious by some sectors.
Political exchange
All these, however, won’t be served by raising the decibel of the verbal war, like the one between Loot and the Martinezes and even non-government organizations holding a press conference in support of the Bogo mayor.
Include there Loot’s suggestion for him and his wife to sign a covenant to prove that no member of his family is interested to run for a position higher than mayor, meaning, they would not tangle with the Martinezes in the district.
While this political exchange is interesting, the truth will be better served if an independent investigation is pursued and additional evidence and testimonies gathered.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (February 9, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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