EDITORIAL - Nipping scandals in the bud

The alleged affair between Capitol chief security officer Loy Madrigal, a married man, and his equally married secretary, has become one of the hottest topics to hit Cebu in recent years. That both are said to be separated from their spouses has done little to bring down the fever of public interest the affair has generated. On the contrary, the husband of the woman stoked the fires even more by calling for a presscon to reveal how Madrigal allegedly stole his wife from him.

Governor Hilario Davide III may be commended for promptly dealing with the scandal by ordering both parties to resign. But the question must be asked -- did the governor learn of the scandal only when it broke? The question is asked because these things do not normally stay secret for long. That the scandal broke because somebody saw the two at NAIA sitting sweetly close to each other and posted photos on social media proves some were probably in on the alleged affair already.

It seems inconceivable that nobody at the Capitol had any inkling about what was going on prior to the breaking of the scandal. Madrigal is a fairly well-known official and he has a fairly good-looking secretary alone with him in his office. Even if nothing was going on, such a situation is often the stuff of which intrigue is made. And intrigues have a way of worming their way around. But of course everybody now knows there was indeed something going on.

For the sake of Davide, it is hoped that it was only when the sneak photos went viral on the Internet that he learned of the scandal. At least it will go well with the swiftness with which he dealt with the problem, otherwise how he dealt with it will fall flat on its face if it is learned that he had prior knowledge of the alleged affair.

The scandal is certainly not the first to hit Capitol. Most certainly it will not be the last. And it is far tamer and less salacious than the last time the Capitol was rocked to the core of its foundations when a well-known court employee was caught by a judge making love with a woman right inside the courtroom of the judge. L'affaire Madrigal is pablum compared to that one.

Interestingly, the father of the governor, no less than the former chief justice Hilario Davide Jr., was himself a person of very high scruples about such things. It can be recalled that during a sporting activity in Cebu, then chief justice Davide literally confronted a judge who showed up at the activity with a woman he was known to be carrying on an affair with.

The Capitol employs hundreds of people. When people are thrown together, things sometimes happen that should not. But when they do, they begin to affect not just the other people around them but also their efficiency. It is always in the best interest of public service that such matters are dealt with as soon as they are discovered and not wait for such time that the scandals explode in public.