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Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Malilong: Wage saga
By Frank Malilong Jr.
The Other Side
Reacting to the regular dose of criticism that he was getting when he was still a member of the Cory Aquino Cabinet, former senator Rene Saguisag at one time wryly remarked, “Welcome to public service.”
Those who seek public office, whe-ther elective or appointive, are warned sufficiently enough that they will be fair game. One of the most enduring doctrines in Philippine jurisprudence says that a public officer must not be onion-skinned; that while he may suffer under an unjust accusation, the pain can be assuaged with the balm of a clear conscience.
The accusation must, however, refer to a matter of public interest. Criticism must not follow a public man into his private life nor pry into his domestic affairs, said the Supreme Court in another case. You can falsely charge that a public officer’s policies are bad but you cannot falsely charge that the man himself is bad.
The distinction between policy and person, and between public interest and private life has admittedly been blurred over the years mostly by an assertive media that obviously believes that its duty to inform justifies, if not necessitates, crossing or ignoring boundaries.
It must be said, however, that in most cases, media continued to observe norms of decency and civility even when relentlessly chasing information into the bowels of private life.
Thadeo Ouano is not my favorite mayor but I do not think it was fair or decent to try to bring him down by making innuendos about a liaison with his daughter-in-law. Such dalliance is as repulsive as incestuous rape and to even suggest that it happened, without regard to the facts, is not only gross and unpardonable but downright criminal.
I am not prejudging the libel complaint that Ouano’s daughter-in-law filed against the broadcaster. In fact, the personalities are immaterial. The accusation of a sexual relationship with a daughter-in-law or, for that matter, any child or relative by affinity or consanguinity, could have been made against any other person and it wouldn’t have been any less abhorrent.
During the few times that I listened to radio commentaries, I found myself cringing over how freely the opinion-makers have trifled with the reputation of another. Words like “kawatan,” “tulisan” and “mangingilad” flowed abundantly during the program.
I am amazed at the resilience and the level of tolerance of the persons who were shamed and defamed. How have they been able to take everything in stride instead of filing a libel suit or worse, hiring an assassin?
Reflecting now, I think it was because the imputation of a crime was limited to the person only. But when you drag other people, such us when you say that one has had sexual relations with a member of the family, that is really going too far. Even in these licentious times, some things remain inviolable. This is one of them.
(fmmalilong@yahoo.com)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (August 1, 2006 issue)
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