No. 1 story - Ecleo Jr., not Vhong Navarro

I was happily shocked by the initial results of an unprogrammed survey by Mr. Leo Lastimosa's Pulso, over dyAB, yesterday morning. If the words "happily shocked" do not seem to be compatible with each other, I cannot help but employ them because that was how I really felt when Sir Leo said that the response to his question on what kind of news did his listeners focus on was far different from what was apparent.

Why, what would have been apparent? The days that followed the criminal attack on one Vhong Navarro saw a frenzy of media and police activities. The actor's home studio spent a great deal of its airtime news, both radio and television, on him. The news of his mauling edged all other stories in terms of exposure, prominence and length. The company's reporters combed every square inch of the alleged scene of the probable crime for, perhaps, added color to the reporting. They also talked to almost everyone willing enough to open his mouth the subject as if silence was sacrilegious.

The elements of the two police stations that had dockets containing opposing accounts of Mr. Navarro's misery, dutifully scoured every angle of the incident. It was obvious that one station wanted to outperform the other by simply trying to gather pieces of information needed to show the credibility of its docket. So, it was a question of whether one police station did its job better than the other. Perhaps, along the way, what was more important in the minds of their operators was the correctness of the process rather than the truth. Whew!

Perhaps because of that divergence of police accounts, the nation's top investigative body, the NBI, joined the fray. It called for people to come into the open and put to print what they saw and heard. NBI agents tried to secure what could be implements of the crime. If it would eventually come up with findings contrary to those of the two police stations', there shall indeed be a third story unfolding.

So, I expected that the conflicting sides of the bizarre account, blown out of proportion by a phalanx of media personalities could canalize the thoughts of the public into focusing on the Vhong Navarro sad story. That was apparent.

It did not come to be. DYAB's Pulso indicated otherwise. The Cebuano listeners of Sir Leo's pointed at the signing of the peace document between the Muslim brothers and the government as the news that meant to them more than the rest. They figured that Vhong Navarro is more entertainment than news. And, rightly so. For that reason, I felt very happy that the Cebuanos are, indeed, more discerning in understanding what is relevant news from trash.

Among the Cebuanos that I talked to, there is one issue that has remained without a closure. We have continued to agonize over it until today. It is very important because it should reflect the kind of justice prevailing in our land. This is about that high-strung personality, called Ruben Ecleo Jr., a former congressman.

If we rely upon the records of the case, as reported by media, Mr. Ecleo Jr., is a criminal. Our wheels of justice grind slowly, but they too grind exceedingly well. Our courts of law have convicted Mr. Ecleo Jr., for a grave felony and it is reported that his appeal has been denied paving the way for the finality of the decision.

There is clearly no point of comparison between the incident of Mr. Navarro and the conviction of Mr. Ecleo Jr. The first is mostly entertainment, and certainly does not affect the fabric of our people, but the second runs deep in the fiber of our society.

That being the case, it is far more important for our news outlets to continue grinding out reports touching on the conviction of Mr. Ecleo Jr., so that we could not slumber on this serious breach of our peace, as it has become the duty of police forces to combine their efforts in arresting a convict so that the ends of justice can be served.

This story might not have been mentioned in Pulso of Sir Leo's program, but I am sure, until today, it remains the number one open-ended story.

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