Thursday, October 05, 2006 Wenceslao: Understanding Mayor Soc By Bong O. Wenceslao
WITH the way Talisay City Mayor Socrates Fernandez is behaving relative to the case of his adopted son Joavan, I would say the political playing field in that city has evened up. Cebu City Councilor Gabriel Leyson, who has bared his plan to run for mayor there, may be smiling at this development. The negative vibes are going the other way.
Leyson actually started off on the wrong foot. Painted as an outsider, the attacks of his boss, Mayor Tomas Osmeña, against Talisay made Gabby’s candidacy even more laughable. How can an Osmeña man dare to enter enemy territory and dream of planting his flag at its City Hall? It now looks like the daring and seeming delusion is paying off.
Who would have thought that the “invincible” Mayor Soc would end up having his Achilles heel exposed to the public? While many Talisaynons are familiar with Joavan’s behavior, it is only recently that the veil has been totally pulled off. I am sure nobody predicted Joavan would be accused of shooting four people, killing one.
Mayor Soc, religious man as he is, must have pondered over the choices available to him when news of the shooting incident broke out. That he chose family responsibility over the exigencies of politics can be taken in a positive light. Sacrificing one’s career for the sake of what some people consider as his prodigal son is admirable for some people.
But Mayor Soc could not also blame others who see in what he is doing a betrayal of the trust people placed on him as mayor and also of his preaching as a defender of the Catholic faith. They wanted justice to be served on the victims and for their mayor to at least distance himself from the suspect, even if he is his son. Soc refused to do that.
I would ask Mayor Soc’s critics, however, to be open-minded. It is easy for us to insist Joavan should be abandoned because we do not have the same kind of relationship that the mayor has with him. Indeed, how many respectable people have acted the same way Mayor Soc did? Remember ex-senator Freddie Webb? Or Rep. Glenda Ecleo?
But that does not mean the quest for justice should stop. We can be understanding and be less harsh on the mayor, but we should continue to encourage the victims and their relatives to pursue the case and not back off. If Joavan committed the crime, he should be punished. Besides, we do not want to see him harming other people again in the future.
TEXTREAX. An unidentified texter chided me for being “too mild” in my commentary about the incident involving block-timers Rey Cortez and Bingbong Solon. They are not block-timers of Bantay Radyo, the texter claimed, but were hired by Vice Gov. Greg Sanchez “para pag-demolish sa iyang mga kaatbang.”
I am not sure about that “public knowledge” thing. But if we want media people to be responsible, we should not make claims that are not backed up with solid advance. How can I say Cortez and Solon are Sanchez’s “guns for hire” when I don’t have proof. If being fair is being mild in my commentary, then I gladly accept I am guilty.
