IF THAT was Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, now a senator, singing at the birthday party supposedly of convicted drug lord and robbery gang leader Herbert Colangco inside the national penitentiary, then she has a lot of explaining to do.
Why would the then justice secretary attend the birthday celebration of an inmate when she was supposed to be the country’s No. 1 prison warden?
If that was her in the YouTube video, she has no moral authority to censure President Digong for ordering security forces to use unorthodox methods in going after drug and criminal syndicates, as well as petty criminals.
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But before we condemn De Lima, we should let her explain, which I did after watching the YouTube video.
I sent her a text message:
“Ma’am, you have a video on YouTube singing at a birthday party supposedly of Herbert Colangco. Was that Colangco you were brushing elbows with or just his look-alike?”
Here’s the senator’s reply:
“Mon, one of my staff called me. He was able to watch the video. That video was actually taken during my birthday at the DOJ (Department of Justice) quadrangle last Aug. 27, 2015. [The person said] to be Colangco was really Cong. Alfred Vargas, who was one of the guests. Others who attended were singer Imelda Papin, Undersecretary/now ERC Chair Jovy Salazar, & many DOJ employees.”
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In the video, the man who looked like Colangco was wearing sunglasses.
He was laughing while De Lima was belting the song, “Bakit (Kung Liligaya Ka sa Piling ng Iba).”
He later rubbed elbows with the justice secretary after she finished singing.
When seen in public, Colangco is often wearing dark glasses.
De Lima, in her subsequent text messages to this columnist, said: “Cong. Alfred Vargas and I touched elbow to elbow because he had sore eyes at that time. He couldn’t shake my hand or do a high-five or do a cheek-to-cheek (beso-beso) with me that’s why he used his elbow. Cong. Alfred was in shades because he had sore eyes.”
Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas’ profile on politics.com.ph says he wears sunglasses even inside the halls of Congress.
“Careful not to get sore eyes, guys. It’s everywhere. Always wash hands and avoid contact. It’s hard to read when one is wearing sunglasses,” he said on politics.com.ph.
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So, what’s the lesson to be learned from the incident?
Momentarily withhold judgment when you read things about people and events on social media.
Most people who post their comments or pictures on social media are frustrated or pseudo journalists.
A lot of them mangle the English language.
The comments or pictures that these people post are not rigidly screened by editors, unlike those of legitimate reporters, columnists and photographers.
Most of them are irresponsible because they have nobody to answer to.
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To my legions of bashers on social media: Thank you very much!
It means that you read my column. I appreciate your nasty comments. Honestly.