Shaping public perception
The road rage incident involving a businessman’s son and a nurse, after inviting tons of attention, has become an emotional issue for the Cebuano public. The attention is not surprising not only because road rage incidents do not always happen despite the seeming anarchy in our streets but also because of the people involved and that it was caught on camera, heightening the drama.
Okay, let us consider first the last point. The spread of the video footage showing the traffic altercation between David Lim Jr., who was with his girlfriend Tamae Takahashi, and Ephraim Nuñal contributed to the increased attention the incident drew. Especially in this age of social media.
This is the primary reason why Lim’s legal counsel, Orlando Salatandre, is focusing on it, discrediting it by saying it failed to show the entire confrontation and even going to the extent of offering money to get the video footage he wanted. It was important both in the court of law and in the formation of public opinion.
Add to that the point that Lim belongs not only to a rich clan but also to one that can be considered colorful. His uncle is businessman Peter Lim, who was unfairly referred to as the “Peter Lim” in President Rodrigo Duterte’s list of alleged drug traffickers in the country. His father was only recently involved in a traffic accident that killed a fish vendor.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña himself contributed to the hype when, after the incident and Lim had still to surface, he led a police team that included fully armed Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) elements in raiding the residences of Lim and his father. He faced the media showing his anger and outlining what later became a rich vs. poor theme for this road rage case. Finally, he went to the President’s special assistant, Bong Go, to ensure Lim won’t be able to leave the country.
Those, in a way, were the ingredients that shaped public perception of the incident even before its full details could be had. That public perception, apparently to the consternation of Lim’s family and relatives, has put him in a bad light. And it didn’t help any that the police, when Lim surrendered, botched the chance to counter the perception that, in cases like this, the odds are always stacked in favor of the rich.