Monday, June 16, 2008 Seares: ‘Board and lodging’ By Pachico A. Seares News Sense
WHEN ABS-CBN cameraman Angelo Valderama was freed by Abu Sayyaf last Thursday night, no ransom was paid, only P100,000 for “board and lodging.”
Broadcaster Ces Drilon and another cameraman were still in captivity. Negotiators must be haggling over board and lodging cost.
What was paid for Valderama was stiff enough but fee for Ces is P10 million, later raised to P20 million. They must be staying at an a la-seven-star Dubai hotel for that obscenely huge bill.
It’s not board and lodging at all. It’s ransom.
But R is a dirty word to both ABS-CBN, which values its corporate goals, and Abu Sayyaf, which has found kidnapping more lucrative than rebelling.
ABS-CBN has the money (which, a cruel text joke says, it can pass on to Meralco as system loss). But it’s not ABS-CBN policy to promote terrorism and paying ransom does just that.
And Abus don’t wish to be called criminals and demanding ransom projects them as bandits.
Benign tag
Giving ransom the benign tag of board and lodging is typical doublespeak that William Lutz says in his 1996 book “The New Doublespeak” the reason no one knows what anyone’s saying anymore.
Politicians’ lies are “reality argumentation.” A tax increase is “revenue enhancement.” Killing a crime suspect is “servicing the target.” Sewage wastes are “regulated organic nutrients” and they don’t stink, they just “exceed the odor threshold.”
Doublespeak misleads and deceives. Yet we use it everywhere. Employees are “transitioned,” not fired. Hostesses are GROs and bar bouncers are “security specialists.”
Pay up the ransom, er, board and lodging and get Ces back on the air.
