Lapu-Lapu City: From corruption to piracy?

I was listening to the dialogue between the media and the Arroyo government held at the Manila Penn in the hope that it would result in having some kind of “rules of engagement” between the Philippine National Police or the military and the media when they cover similar incidents that happened in Oakwood or recently at the Manila Penn. That dialogue resulted in nothing because the media present in that dialogue refused to accept any form of rules that was being pushed by the government.

So when Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Ronnie Puno was asked what would the police do in the event a similar incident happens again, without batting an eye, Sec. Puno said that “the media will be handcuffed.” I’m sure that all the media personalities who attended that dialogue would be frying Sec. Puno in their columns or news reports. But then I don’t blame Sec. Puno. Don’t get me wrong. I have never seen eye-to-eye with Sec. Puno especially as we know him to be a true blue Erap loyalist, but in absence of any deals or memorandum of agreement with the media, I support his decision.

I’m proud that the majority of Cebuano media feel the same way as I do. This only shows the Cebuano media’s responsibility. I’m sure that a good number of our readers have seen a lot Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) an American tv series. There you will see how American media behaves when there is a murder and a yellow police line tape is wrapped around the scene of the crime. You will never see any media person inside that cordoned area as only the CSI people are allowed inside to ensure that no evidence is contaminated.

This is why news photographers bring the latest equipment, like a telescopic camera in case they have to take photos from a certain distance. TV news reporters carry the most sensitive microphones attached in long rod so they could catch the voices of those making breaking news statements. But not Ces Drilon of ABS-CBN. She had to be beside Sen. Antonio Trillianes and when Gen. Avelino Razon called her to move out of the vicinity, she refused to budge. So when everyone was teargasing the media inside, she got the brunt of it. So should we blame the police or is it the media’s fault? I believe the media should have skedaddled out of there pronto!

Our nation today is in turmoil largely due to a very irresponsible media that dwells in a fierce competition among each other and giving non-entities like Sen. Trillanes the publicity he has always wanted. I have always been proud with the Cebu media because while we compete with each other, we do join hands in many issues, especially when it comes to Press Freedom and our right to protect our precious freedom of speech, which we must pursue with full responsibility.

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We revisit the case of Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza whose case in the Office of the Ombudsman was placed in a freezer. I hate to say this, but is the Office of the Ombudsman obstructing justice here? They have been given all the necessary evidence that point to a prima facie case which can be filed with the Sandiganbayan, so what’s keeping them?

Friends that I meet in coffeehouses say that the Ombudsman may have been bribed and people openly talk like this to the embarrassment of the Ombudsman. I personally don’t agree with them because there is no evidence to indicate that they were bought; however, the Ombudsman must act now with dispatch, otherwise those of us who still believe in them might rethink our positions.

Meanwhile I gathered that the latest sin that Mayor Radaza has allegedly committed is piracy! Apparently the infamous 470 unbranded Celeron type computers that the City of Lapu-Lapu purchased at ridiculously outrageous prices runs on pirated or unlicensed software! This only means that Kein Enterprises should now be in hot water for selling pirated Microsoft programs, which are protected under the Intellectual Property Law.

This info came the Mactan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) after all, they are the official graft watch unit of the Ombudsman of the Philippines. Again we ask Mayor Radaza and his legal minions for their statements to this. Have they gone from bad to worse, instead of just being accused of corruption they have transformed into non-intellectual pirates? I say that they are non-intellectual pirates because it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to find out whether they are using licensed Microsoft software or not. The City of Lapu-Lapu can very well afford licensed software, but why do they have to deal with companies like Kein Enterprises that ought to be shut down by the Lapu-Lapu City police for selling pirated software?