Free speech has its responsibilities!

We praise the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Arturo Panganiban for upholding the time-honored principle of Free Speech, when it declared that the holding of rallies are legal for as long as permits are granted by the local government authorities. Last Labor Day, a lot of rallies were held, especially in Metro Manila. The authorities only allowed those rallyists with permits and stopped those who had none. One group claimed to have a permit but the police found out that they were using an old permit… an old trick, which didn't work this time around.

This is what we've been harping about. Free Speech carries with it certain responsibilities. During my stint as CITOM chief, this was one issue we tackled seriously, that the Freedom Park should be restored so that people who want to say anything against the government can do so without fear nor even a rally permit… as shouting it in the Freedom Park should be allowed.

The problem of course is a lot of people got more freedom than most of us and the vendors took this freedom to the ultimate extreme by taking away space reserved for the lovers of the Freedom of Speech. This is why in the past, many militant groups opted to hold their rallies in front of Metro Gaisano, which was illegal; not because we don't allow Free Speech, but because they trample on the rights of motorists to traverse the road that is specifically reserved for them.

Back then we told the militant groups that they could hold a rally at the Plaza Independencia, but they would not agree to this. The reason is simple. If they went to the Plaza Independencia, they would be alone with their followers and it just might reveal the stark truth that they really are a small group. Holding a rally on a main road means disturbing the traffic, sending the wrong signal that they have a huge crowd, they even caused a traffic jam.

I've studied the ways of the communist front organizations. They wouldn't give a hoot in violating our laws because they don't have any respect for our government anyway, a government that they are trying to destabilize in the hope that they can take over our country. This is why they even bring children to rallies, so when they scuffle with the police, the media would print a child being in the middle of a violent dispersal and the world would take pity on them.

* * *

We missed a lot of letters sent via email because I rarely got a chance to check my mail. This letter of complaint was sent last week. Here's the letter in full.

"Dear Mr. Avila, I would like to bring to you and your reader's attention a very harrowing experience I had while eating at Ofukusan Japanese Restaurant located at the Country Mall, one of my constantly visited restaurants here in Cebu. I usually bring my family and friends to eat there, but because of this most recent incident, I hope other customers of this restaurant would also be more careful when they decide to eat there.

In my last visit, a big metal staple wire found its way into the bowl of rice served to us, breaking the tooth of my sister when she accidentally bit into it. This experience became more disturbing to us as we realized further damage could have been done had she been cut by the wayward staple wire, while chewing or had she accidentally swallowed it.

This was the same concern that the owner of the restaurant expressed when I called her attention to this serious incident. In obvious response to the huge oversight in food handling safety, the owner offered to just write-off the cost of the meal of my sister while we paid for our own meals. What is further disturbing is that, this is the second time I had such a bad experience in this same restaurant. In the previous incident, I found a cockroach on the food served to me a couple of months ago.

The reason why I'm asking you to write this is to forewarn potential customers to be careful if and when they decide to eat in this restaurant. Who knows, they may find a dead insect in their food or suffer a broken tooth like my sister or worse, swallow a metal object. I hope that the owner of this restaurant would learn from this incident and do drastic measures to prevent this from happening again for the sake and safety of their customers… Mrs. Angelique L. Miranda"

Mrs. Miranda drew the actual size of this metal staple wire. It's not the size that you use everyday with your office stapler; this is a box staple wire, which you use in big boxes. Indeed, a big metal wire like that could gash your mouth or break your teeth and God forbid if it found its way into your stomach! Perhaps the management of Country Mall ought to reprimand this establishment for their carelessness. At least we've warned you about this place… so be careful!

* * *

For email responses to this article, write to [email protected].