Max V. Soliven 1929-2006: Never forgotten

Today is the 10th death anniversary of my mentor and dear friend and publisher of the Philippine Daily Inquirer and the Philippine STAR Maximo V. Soliven. How time has flown indeed… that 10 years just breezed by. Max was my life when I visited Manila in the 20 years of our friendship, which began in 1986 right after the EDSA Revolution. I credit him for the titles of my columns, Shooting Straight and my 16-year-old TV talkshow, Straight from the Sky in SkyCable & MyTV channel in Cebu.

In fact this week, Straight from the Sky is featuring a replay of my interview with Sir Max Soliven, which we shown in September 2005, just a year before he passed on to eternal life. It is my tribute to Sir Max who put me in the path of Journalism after our meeting in Cebu when I was vice president of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc. (CCCI). He told me that he needed a man in Cebu and since I had no journalistic experience, he told me that I was perfect so he could learn from him. So he turned me into the “Bureau Chief” of the Philippine STAR in August 1986. This is now my 30th year as a journalist and I never regretted that life-changing decision that made me what I am today.

Since his death was rather unexpected (like me, he also had a kidney transplant), not a day passes that Max appears in my mind simply because when there are issues to write and before I write my thoughts, I would ask myself… “What would Max say about this?” Sir Max, 10 years later, you are still badly missed. May we ask our pious readers to please pray for the repose of his soul.

*      *      *

I watched that hastily called presscon by Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Ronald Bato dela Rosa who presented the captured (no, he did not surrender) former Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary, now Sen. Leila De Lima’s driver and lover, Ronnie Dayan. Before I make comments about that arrest of Sen. De Lima’s driver, allow me to tell this to the PNP Chief that he should come up with a template for this kind of presscon. Bato apparently enjoyed the presscon and allowed the press to ask all the questions they wished to ask… even to the point of a reporter asking Dayan if he could link Vice President Leni Robredo into the illegal drugs case?

It was then that I thought that the presscon had taken too long… and revealed too much before the Senate committee investigating illegal drugs could even ask Dayan any questions. I believe that the PNP Chief went overboard. I certainly hope that the PNP Chief would act with restraint next time. The war against illegal drugs can be won without any fanfare.

Meanwhile, yesterday all eyes were glued to ANC’s live telecast direct from the Senate hearing of the committee on illegal drugs to hear the testimony of Kerwin Espinosa, and while this hearing is still ongoing, there are many interesting facts that need to be discussed here because most of his operations were done in Cebu City and his testimony links many personalities in the PNP in Cebu City… especially his admission that his operation was under Jeffrey “Jaguar” Diaz, Cebu City’s supposedly number one drug lord who was killed in an ambush or encounter in Las Piñas by pursuing Cebu City Police.

The first report of that operation was splashed (no news outlets got the info at that time until Osmeña reported it) in the Facebook page by then incoming Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña who said that the operation was led by “Regional 7 Intelligence Division headed by Colonel Rex Derilo and Regional Special Operations Group-7 headed by Barangay Labangon’s very own Colonel George Ylanan.” The Cebu media found it strange that the incoming Cebu City Mayor splashed the report and he was all praises to the pursuing police for a job well done. That Jaguar has been known as Cebu’s top drug lord, he was also an Osmeña supporter in his Barangay Fatima, Duljo.

That raised a lot of eyebrows in the sense that when he was the Mayor, they could not find Jaguar despite his hiding in plain sight? Yes, he was known as a “Robin Hood” in his barangay and loved by his neighbors. So the question on everyone’s mind is, why was Jaguar hastily killed? With Kerwin’s testimony yesterday, now we have more or less an idea why after so many years, Jaguar had to be killed. After all, dead men tell no tales!

Another personality mentioned by Kerwin Espinosa was the role of then Gen. Vicente Loot, now Mayor of Daan Bantayan. Mayor Loot bewailed before the 888 News Forum that his name always came up and not yet removed from the list of suspected drug protectors. Kerwin Espinosa’s testimony linking him to Mayor Loot is very damaging. Clearly in Region 7 and Region 8, top PNP officials are involved in protecting drug lords.

*      *      *

Email: [email protected] or [email protected].