Monday, September 24, 2007 Mongaya: Press Freedom By Anol Mongaya Panahom
THE unfortunate encounter between the ABS-CBN crew and Police Insp. Jose Liddawa was not a case of suppression of press freedom. It was a traffic incident caused by an intoxicated police officer driving a car. The accident developed into a display of drunken arrogance on camera.
For what he did, I think Liddawa deserves dismissal from service. There’s enough footage to show his shameful actuations that fateful night.
If we are to believe lawyer Noel Archival, however, the night was not all a Liddawa show. The media practitioners present allegedly mauled Liddawa. He fell on the street and had to spend some time in the ICU. Archival claimed this part of the footage was cut.
Is this a case of self-serving self-censorship? Or is it abuse of press freedom?
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Nevertheless, kudos to Cebu media leaders led by Sun.Star Cebu and Superbalita editor-in-chief Pachico Seares for the successful celebration of Press Freedom Week.
My congratulations also to Sun.Star’s Pubs Briones, Januar Yap and Atty. Seares for the delicately crafted documentary film on church-media-relations.
There’s just one thing unfinished with the work—Msgr. Achilles Dakay who was on a trip abroad during the shoot. After all, it was the monsignor who started the church-media dialogue during one meeting with the Cebu Citizens-Press Council (CCPC).
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Cebu customs officials lament the number of unsigned papers submitted to various government and nongovernment entities complaining about luxury car smuggling.
The one with signatures of members of the Cebu Auto Dealers Association (Cada) and sent to the Visayas ombudsman, on the other hand, contained deceptive figures. Cada lumped together Auxiliary Utility Vehicles (AUV) and Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV).
Obviously, the vehicles we refer to as AUV/SUV could also be ordinary multicabs and trucks. Pag-chur mo, sir!
Meanwhile, Fr. Carmelo Diola of Barug Filipino and Dilaab acknowledged the receipt of an anonymous letter that hit the collection performance and the alleged role of District Collector Boysie Belmonte in luxury car smuggling.
As I wrote in past columns, I hope higher government officials should look closer at this issue considering that most of the affected vehicles are those bought by lower income sectors and not luxury vehicles. Kay luxury ba diay nang multicab?
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Good that President Arroyo suspended the multi-billion ZTE broadband deal.
Had it gone on and heated further, I was already speculating what if Speaker Joe de Venecia’s son will force an ugly confrontation within the pro-administration majority at the Lower House.
Speaker de Venecia going over to the anti-GMA camp at this time? Kuyawa sa impeachment, ana bay!
The suspension should give GMA time to evaluate the whole deal and its ramifications. But then, Rep. Tony Cuenco and several others are right. GMA should eventually cancel the transaction.
(Check out “In Between Columns” at anol.blogs.friend-ster.com/anols_blog)
