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Saturday, April 08, 2006
Nalzaro: Battle of publicity
By Bobby Nalzaro
The tug-of-war at the Bureau of Customs between Port of Cebu District Collector Maria Lourdes Mangaoang and Collector Grace Zuño Karingal is not only about political maneuvers and connection but also about public relations.
Note that Karingal, even if she has yet to assume office, has engaged the services of Cebu-based public relations specialist Cerwin Eviota to drum up support for her among the Cebuano community.
We cannot drag Eviota into the mess because he was only hired. But why would Karingal do this when her assignment to the Port of Cebu has been recalled? Also, Mangaoang already secured a temporary restraining order from the Court of Appeals.
Mangaoang, for her part, claimed she has not hired a p.r. consultant. But there is no longer any need to do that because she has a battery of publicists: legitimate and bogus media practitioners who have been receiving weekly payola from the bureau even before she was assigned here. These media practitioners can effectively defend Mangaoang and shape public opinion in her favor.
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Last Monday, I wrote about the predicament of the Bacolods who were to be moved out of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 7 headquarters. Now, I was informed they are out of the camp and are in a safe house outside the city provided by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
However, newly installed CIDG 7 regional officer Jose Jorge Corpuz assured me that his unit would still secure the Bacolods. Here's his letter:
“We appreciate your kind concern over the safety of the Bacolods. At the outset and up to now, this unit is not only committed to protecting them but will unceasingly support them, despite their moving from CIDG 7 headquarters, in waging justice against those now charged in court.
“With my assumption as the new regional chief of this unit, it is my modest intention to pursue this commitment. It is my inherent task, however, to ensure that the plight of the Bacolods will be taken cared of. Rest assured that this unit, in coordination with the DOJ Witness Protection Program, will not depart from its commitment to protect and support not only the Bacolods but also all victims and witnesses of heinous crimes, in the interest of public service.”
I won't argue with Corpuz because he knows more than me as far as security and police matters are concerned. But I hope he will see to it that his men will protect the Bacolods round the clock because if something happens to them, he will be blamed and his conscience will be bothered by it forever. He knows how dangerous the people who are after the Bacolods are.
(bgnalzaro@gmanetwork.com)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (April 8, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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