EDITORIAL - A servant cannot speak for his master

Thaksin Shinawatra is the prime minister of Thailand. That means that when he speaks, he carries the voice of his entire country. When he criticized officiating in the Southeast Asian Games hosted by the Philippines, it was as if Thailand itself did the criticizing.

Thaksin's verbal assault saw print in Bangkok newspapers, and was subsequently given ample play in other newspapers in the region. Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, taken aback by the verbal assault, promptly ordered an investigation.

A few hours after Arroyo gave the order, Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose Cojuangco announced that the matter had been put to rest, Thai sports officials having reportedly apologized at a hastily-called meeting of the Southeast Asian Game Federation.

Now wait a minute. Why should the matter be put to rest? On whose side is Cojuangco anyway? Whoever Thai official it was who reportedly apologized cannot apologize on behalf of his prime minister. A servant cannot speak for his master.

Of course, we can accept the apology of that Thai official, but only at his own personal level. After all, we can understand the discomfort he must be in, to be in the very country that his own prime minister back home publicly criticized.

There are insinuations that Thaksin never made the statement criticizing the officiating at the games. That is possible. But don't you think Thaksin by now would have denied the report of his having issued such derogatory remarks about the Philippines if he never said them?

We can understand the personal passion with which the prime minister may have attached to the games, but as the top official of his country, he should realize that he is no longer at liberty to act just like any ordinary person.

His high office imposes very stringent limitations on his utterances and actions, limitations that are dictated by a wide variety of considerations, including diplomatic protocol, foreign policy and basic tact and circumspection.

So let us put things in their proper perspective. If Thaksin did not say anything derogatory about the Philippines, then he should deny it and deny it himself. If he did say it, then he himself must apologize. An apology from any other Thai official will not suffice.

On the other hand, the investigation that Arroyo ordered must go on. Cojuangco cannot wrap it up just hours after the president gave the order and proclaim there was no bias in the officiating. It smacks of the very cavalier attitude that precisely gives rise to doubts.