Friday, May 30, 2008 Wenceslao: Insinuations on Sison’s killing By Bong O. Wenceslao Candid Thoughts
IT turns out I spoke (rather, wrote) too soon. In my May 23 column that partly tackled the killing of lawyer Richard Sison, I wrote that that the incident is no reason for the rift between businessman Efrain Pelaez Jr. and Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza to worsen. Days after both sides are exchanging speculations about who did Sison in.
I prefer that the police would be given a free hand in investigating the killing.
Or if not the police, like what Sison’s relatives may want, operatives of the National Bureau of Investigation 7. Instead, Radaza requested Police Regional Office 7 Director Ronald Roderos to look into the possibility that tax evaders and smugglers had Sison killed.
Probers should consider all angles, true, but my hope is that Task Force Sison will act as independently as possible or at least be seen by the public as independent. As for the two sides in the running conflict in Lapu-Lapu City---the Pelaez camp and the Radaza camp---they should let the Task Force be. The quest for justice is better served that way.
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A reader, Jason Nieva, reacted to a comment by a reader about Veco’s system loss charge that came out in my May 23 column. Mr. Nieva said the charge in Meralco's bill is probably the same as what is reflected in the Veco billing. But keep in mind, he added, that these charges “need the approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).”
Jason then clarified that “the system loss charge is a cost recovery charge. This is an integral part of a business.” He also said that the use by Veco employees of electricity is part of the firm’s operating expense and is “already factored in the rates.” He claimed that employees are given fixed amount on electricity consumption and pay for the excess.
I say that given the controversy surrounding the charges collected by Meralco in Luzon, Veco’s charges should also be reviewed. It’s not enough to pass the buck to the ERC. What ERC approves does not necessarily mean it is proper. Electricity fee eats up a big chunk of the family budget, so charges imposed by power firms must be monitored.
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More on the story of the late Priscillano “Presing” Gingoyon Sr. Another texter (0917-3265655) said he was killed “at a gasoline station along M.J. Cuenco Ave. or Martires.” “I should know,” the texter added, “as the place is just across our house. The site is presently occupied by Mufflerhouse just a few meters from the old provincial jail.”
Another texter provided more detailed information, like the incident involving Gingoyon happening when Sergio “Serging” Osmeña Jr., Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña’s father, was still the city’s chief executive. That’s why people’s recollection of those times is hazy; Serging was mayor before Martial Law was declared in 1972.
The setup was very different then. The police was still under the direct control of the mayors. The texter said Serging formed a mayor’s squad to counter criminality and the activities of erring cops. I won’t dwell on Presing’s alleged misconduct for lack of confirmation but I think his story needs revisiting for the drama surrounding his life and of the kind of societal setup that prevailed at that time.
