Sunday, October 12, 2008 Malilong: Mayor Soc, don't shoot the messengers By Frank Malilong The Other Side
LET’S stop being hypocrites. When someone or a member of his family gets into trouble, one of the first options that he considers is to settle with the other party. In most cases, money changes hands between accused and accuser. For the former, it is about buying peace; for the latter, moving on.
If it is true that Mayor Soc Fernandez approached some of the complainants against his adopted son, Joavan, to convince them to drop the charges, he did not do anything different from what a head of the family normally does. If he bought or attempted to buy peace, he acted exactly how the average father acts under the same circumstances.
It does not matter that Mayor Soc happens to occupy a high-profile and powerful office in government. But it does, if as alleged, he used the power and resources of his office to persuade the other party to agree to a settlement.
Being a good father to one’s son, on the one hand, and to the people of his city, on the other hand, are not mutually exclusive. Mayor Soc can be both and I have no doubt that he tried and continues to try to be so.
He needs no coaching on the intricacies of parenthood, both public and private. It’s a tough and delicate balancing act but Mayor Soc is, without doubt, aware of that too. And because he reads the Good Book regularly, I am sure he has memorized and committed to heart that passage about parental love; that no father will give his son a scorpion (or is it a snake, Father Dennis and Father Teng?) if he asks for fish.
These are difficult times for him and his lot is not made easier by prying, though well-meaning, friends who offer unsolicited advice. But I expected him, because of his deep spirituality, to remain calm in the midst of the raging storm and not panic, like Peter, when he saw the turbulent waters.
I am therefore disappointed to hear him accuse some members of media of being “part of a PR firm.” Mayor Soc is the last person I expected to lose his equanimity but I am afraid he showed signs of just that in suggesting that media are doing a hatchet job on him and Joavan.
No, Mayor Soc, please don’t shoot the messengers. The message we carry may be unpleasant, if not repugnant, to you but we did not invent it. And if reporters ask you questions, some of which may be harsh to you, it is not because they want to badger, embarrass or torment you but because they want to be fair by getting your side.
Joavan’s cases are now in court. Joavan himself is already in jail. I wish that we could leave it at that and say that we let justice take its course. Unfortunately, Joavan happens to be your son and you happen to be a very important person in the community.
When you joined public service, you surrendered a huge part of your privacy. That is part of the bargain: hundreds of thousands eyes trying to catch a glimpse of you and the same number of ears raring to listen about you. Needless to say, it is media’s duty to inform them.
I have always said that Joavan is presumed innocent until he is proven guilty. It is possible, as his father continues to insist, that indeed he is innocent. The quest for vindication may be long and painful, Brod Soc but hearken to this message that drew its inspiration from the Good Book: in this world we will always have affliction but take heart, I have overcome.
