Fake news like bomb threats
It was reported in this paper last Tuesday that “a concerned taxpayer” has written President Duterte to shed light on what the letter-writer claims is the real story about the shipload of trash from South Korea that ended up in a vacant lot in Mandaue City. According to the letter-writer, the trash was supposed to be smuggled into Cebu and dumped surreptitiously at Cebu City’s Inayawan dumpsite.
But things went awry. The operation of the Inayawan dump became the subject of controversy. Cases were filed in court. Moreover, finding it below standard, the then environment secretary at the time, Gina Lopez, ordered the dump closed. And so the deal struck between a former Cebu City official, a former Customs official, and an unidentified man on the one hand, and a South Korean businessman on the other, fell through.
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, commenting on the issue, said it is all likely fake news, spread by a member of the political opposition in the city council who stood to gain if it spreads.
Nevertheless, Osmeña did deny personal involvement in the deal, saying he was never in any talks to bring in garbage from anywhere. He was mum on the matter of one of the parties to the alleged deal being a close ally.
The comment and denial of Osmeña, however, sounded limp in face of the seriousness of the allegation. In fact, if all he could do about the issue is label it as fake news and then attribute it to his political enemies, he would have been better off not saying anything at all, at least for now. After all, no word has been heard as yet from the president, to whom the allegations were addressed.
It is almost certain that when the allegations get the full attention of the president, he will waste no time acting on them. He has a thing against corruption in government and a heart for the environment. And he has a mouth that lets everyone know how he feels about both. Osmeña should have waited until he has heard from Duterte before saying anything on the issue.
As it turned out, Osmeña’s response was like shooting from the hip. Worse, the bullets he fired were a dud.
A truly responsible leader would have responded to a serious issue with equal seriousness. Calling the matter fake news is frivolous. It is very disappointing. When you hold a responsible position in government, even fake news must be treated like a bomb threat, something to be dealt with in all seriousness.
Again, Osmeña should just have waited until Duterte himself had spoken on the matter. But having chosen to speak first and preempt any presidential action on the matter, the mayor now owes the Cebuanos a real explanation. It does not suffice anymore for him to simply dismiss the whole thing as fake news, especially since he probably has not even tried to ascertain if indeed it is fake.
Osmeña must bear in mind that whoever wrote the letter to Duterte couldn’t have taken chances flirting with danger unless he or she had even the slightest of bases. Serving up fake news to a president is not something anybody in his or her right mind would willingly do, especially if that president happens to be a man like Duterte. Duterte is not the type to accept fake news as an explanation.
‘A truly responsible leader would have responded to a serious issue with equal seriousness. Calling the matter fake news is
frivolous.’