The Catanduanes Tribune


Vol. XX No. 47	January 31, 2001	Virac, Catanduanes

Headlines

Major Developments

The Catanduanes Tribune

Rawis, Virac

Catanduanes,

Philippines - 5001

Tel. No.:

   (052) 811-1267

   or 811-2640

Fax No.:

   (052) 811-1267

E-mail:

Cattribune@cs.com



Publisher-Editor

Edwin A. Gianan

Advertising-

Circulation

Manager

Simeon G. Cueno

Web Master:

Richard T. Revelar

Calgary, Canada

Briefly Yours

By Joel Son Panti

The NBI's slip is showing

Rep. Jun Verceles is losing the propaganda war. And he is helpless. He does nothing but to defend. He is on the defensive, He forgets that he is a lawyer. He forgets that a lawyer's battlecry is "the best defense is offense."

He cannot blame his writers. He should blame himself. The writers of Gov. Sanchez have a direction. A timetable. A definite objective. And a clear path to attain that objective, fair or foul. But mostly foul.

Verceles should not blame his writers but himself. He is too honest. He simply allows writers to write what they believe is true. And his writers simply follow the journalists' Code of Ethics. In short, they are not used as propagandists. In the best sense of the word.

For instance, when a news breaks out, be it major or minor news, Sanchez's propaganda machine begins rolling. The Sanchez boys make use of the local text messaging, ironically a phenomenon considered a by-product of Verceles' cellphone project.

The same so-called news is fed to the local AM radio station via a conduit identified by Verceles as Bayani Ibones, allegedly a close kin of the governor.

Based on a formal and official complaint filed by Verceles Jan. 24, the so-called news is repeated or broadcast several times a day (perhaps to ape Hitler's philosophy that a lie often said gets the semblance of truth).

This is the case of the so-called "binacal na mga Inquirer can Enero 23." The lone newspaper distributor in Catanduanes denied such a report.

As you can see, the Sanchez propaganda follows a system. The Verceles writers follow no system because they do not employ a propaganda machine. But this pattern is peanuts compared to the following mode of propaganda:

In Sanchez's case, if they have no news, they make one, repeat, make one. They manufacture news, complete with the ingredients to make it appear legitimate, credible and plausible.

Take the case of the so-called DPWH ghost projects. To come up with a semblance of truth, the Sanchez boys went around the province and solicited or gathered signatures of barangay captains on the pretext that additional funds for infra projects are to be requested.

The pages containing their signatures were attached to complaints filed against the DPWH!

Upon discovery of the deceit, the same barangay captains recanted their testimonies.

But news on the manufactured charges had already been written both in local and national dailies and broadcast in the local radio conduit. As one can see very clearly, there is a system in handling this media affair.

In short, Sanchez has the "dirty tricks department" that handles the propaganda. Verceles has no department to speak of.

Why did Sanchez's dirty tricks department single out the DPWH? Why not charge Verceles directly?

Because they do not have and cannot have solid, fool-proof evidence or documents to pin down Verceles with. All they have is what everybody knows all about all along that congressmen, senators, governors, mayors accept "SOP" for every project completed.

But since this SOP cannot be documented, Sanchez's boys went on a fishing expedition on voluminous records at the DPWH hoping that somewhere along the line, a link could be had!

Moral of the story: Don`t bite the news on its face value.

Swallow it only when it passes the scrutiny of logic or reason, when it conforms with human nature, and when it jibes with common sense.

For instance, Verceles provides the money for an infra project out of his CDF. The Department of Budget and Management releases the money to the DPWH (not to Verceles) for the infra project.

DPWH conducts the bidding and awards the project to the winner. Once began, then completed, DPWH will pay the contractor.

Now, where is the direct participation of Verceles in a particular infra project? None! No direct participation.

The only link Verceles has, like all other congressmen, senators, governors, mayors, etc., is the contractors who dish out what is commonly known nationwide as SOP only after the project is finished. Or has been started.

So, how could a congressman, any congressman for that matter, be linked to a ghost project? Only when that congressman is really walang hiya, walang mukha at walang masiba!

Here's another news that requires the scrutiny of reason and common sense.

In its Jan. 24 issue, the Philippine Daily Inquirer on page 14-A carried a story with the head "Solon tried to bribe probers of P1.2-B infra scam - NBI." The dash between the word scam and NBI means it was the NBI who announced the news.

The solon referred to in this news is Verceles. Part of the story reads: "The emissary told STF (Special Task Force) agents that the money came from his boss. But STF Chief Max Salvador refused to accept the money and instead ordered the emissary to return it to his boss,"the NBI official added.

Agent Salvador is the head of the NBI Special Task Force. That means that he is bright, knowledgeable and trustworthy. That's why he was appointed head.

Now, if indeed this story is true, that the alleged emissary brought with him a bag full of money and tried to bribe him, why did he not arrest the man and confiscated the bag full of money that could serve as the best evidence for the alleged bribery?

Why did Mr. Salvador instead ordered the alleged emissary "to return it to his boss?" As a veteran NBI agent, Mr. Salvador knows very well that the very act of trying to bribe him constitutes a criminal offense, and hence, the man could be arrested on the spot. And that the best evidence of the bribe try is the alleged bag full of money, but he did not confiscate it!

Does the story pass the scrutiny of reason and common sense and it is in accordance with human nature, especially so that Mr. Salvador conducts the investigation to pin down Rep. Verceles?

Your slip is showing!