Thursday, September 25, 2008 Espinoza: Probe on Rachelle’s killing should start By Elias L. Espinoza Free Zone
I AM flattered by the invitation of Cebu City Mayor Tomas to a press conference at the Casino Español today. Although the invitation was signed by Nagiel Bañacia, his information officer, it was sent presumably with his consent.
Mayor Osmeña is set to announce in the presscon that Filinvest Land is the first company to offer to undertake a joint venture with the city to develop 50 hectares of land at the South Road Properties (SRP).
Sun.Star editorial office’s Ronron Campaña, who received the invitation, said that only my compañero Eddie Barrita and I were invited. I was dumbfounded for a moment.
I wish that today’s presscon would not turn into a forum of blames and insults. Mayor Tomas is civil enough not to harshly deal with his critics.
In Tuesday’s issue of Sun.Star, Mayor Tomas announced that Filinvest Land will make a formal presentation today of its proposal to buy and develop big portions of SRP land.
The presscon is Mayor Osmeña’s way of promoting transparency in transactions involving the SRP. That’s good, mayor, but what about the other projects of the city?
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The grief of parents on the loss of a daughter or son is always immeasurable. That Rachelle Mae Palang died during an encounter with the military in Malungcay Dako, Dauin, Negros Oriental surely made the grief more painful. The rebel tag outraged her family.
My sympathies to Elenito Palang and his family. I met Elenito once when he was still a councilor of Consolacion, Cebu. It was not surprising that Provincial Board Member Victor Maambong quickly called for an investigation.
Central Command Chief Pedro Ike Inserto welcomes any “fair investigation” on the incident. He maintained that it was a legitimate encounter and warned that any investigation will only expose Rachelle’s life story.
As much as I don’t want to intrude into the privacy of the grieving Palang family, I still think it was wrong for them to cremate Rachelle’s body. An autopsy on the cadaver would have helped resolve doubts.
In my telephone talk with Negros Oriental Provincial Police Director Augusto Marquez, Jr. a day after the incident, he told me that Rachelle’s relative, who is a prelate in the province, asked him about a month before to help find Rachelle.
Marquez said he did his best but it was not enough because he could not just send his men into the hinterlands since these areas are not friendly to men in uniform.
To stop further speculations on the issue, the Human Rights Commission should immediately start the investigation without fear or favor and publish the result.
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The elected officials of Mandaue City could have settled their political differences even without the intervention of Gov. Gwen Garcia. The governor’s involvement only proved their lack of political maturity.
Be that as it may, this development is good for Mandauehanons. Vice Mayor Carlo Fortuna and Mayor Jonas Cortes have finally realized they are public servants and not radio commentators who react to issues at a drop of a pin.
They should be reminded that, as public servants, they owe gratitude to the public that put them in office. Their insensible squabble led the city to nowhere land. Their political advisers should also be circumspect.
Mandaue City officials can always disagree on matters of public concern minus the inflammatory or gutter language common only to (with all due respect) fish mongers.
