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LATE Thursday I—and, as I later learned, many of my media
colleagues too—received a cell phone text message from a sender
obviously out to manipulate the media for a hidden agenda.
The SMS message read: “Former Supreme Court
Justice Jose Vitug resigned as Meralco’s corporate secretary
Wednesday as he could not tolerate Rosete’s cleanup drive and
cover-up of Meralco’s proxies to keep the Lopez family in power.
Please ask your reporters to pursue story.”
Obviously, the SMS sender wanted to mislead
media. He wanted us to tell the story of Vitug’s resignation from
a perspective that would put the SMS sender’s business rivals in a
bad light.
Fortunately, media got hold of Vitug’s letter
of resignation. The ex-magistrate detailed the reason for his
resignation: General Manager Winston Garcia of the Government
Service Insurance System (GSIS) had called Vitug up to tell him that
he was remiss in his responsibilities as interim Meralco corporate
secretary. A media statement attributed to Garcia had branded Vitug
as an “uncooperative corporate secretary.” The former justice
resigned in order “to avoid any misunderstanding with the board”
after Garcia’s broadside.
Garcia, according to Vitug himself, was the
reason for the resignation. What then was that mysterious text
message for? Was it designed to mislead the public by first
misleading the media?
Garcia would probably deny that his camp was the
source of that text message. Unfortunately—for him, his statement
in media after Vitug’s resignation bore exactly the same theme as
the SMS. Garcia has a reputation for being rough-edged. The same
coarseness seems to now extend to the way he tries to “manage”
journalists.
Even more unfortunate is the fact that the text
message on Vitug’s resignation came on the heels of a disingenuous
statement issued by his mouthpiece, former Mega-Pacific lawyer
Estrella “Star” Elamparo.
Elamparo had said no member of the Garcia clan
has ever worked for the Cebu-based Visayas Electric Company (VECO)
or other firms also owned by the Aboitizes. She was met with a
chorus of disbelief. Was she lying outright or just ignorant?
Elamparo has neither acknowledged her error nor apologized for her
seeming bid to hoodwink the public.
Then, at that now-famous Panglao, Bohol, Cabinet
meeting, Garcia told President Arroyo to her face that Meralco
executives get free electricity. When shown the Meralco bill of one
of the senior Meralco officers present at the meeting, Garcia
reportedly did not even acknowledge his baseless accusation.
When Garcia launched his hate-campaign against
the Lopezes, many rode on his bandwagon. They saw him as their
knight in shining armor, their irresistible force set to collide
with the proverbial immovable object for the sake of Meralco
customers.
In just a week and a half, however, that
perception has changed. For instance, many of my media colleagues
are starting to feel that Garcia has taken them for a ride.
Garcia needs to finally exercise candor. His
attempt to vilify Meralco in general and the Lopezes in particular
no longer looks like a pro-consumer crusade. It now seems like a
naked grab for Meralco board seats—for business control, for
corporate power, for whoever.
GSIS apparently wants to use the media in order
to condition the mind of the public that Garcia will not get the
coveted board seats in Meralco because he would be cheated.
Certain sections of the media have peddled
enough deception on Garcia’s behalf. Hereon he has to fight his
own war—for business control, for corporate power, for whoever.
The Aboitizes have sought to distance themselves
from the GSIS juggernaut. It may have dawned on them that Garcia
won’t be able to deliver. Maybe, Meralco shareholders saw through
the lack of transparency. Maybe, the battle for proxies would have
taken a different turn if Garcia were less opaque about the business
interests he represents.
Garcia may have preferred to hide some things
from public view—for one, the Aboitiz connection. Another is the
prevarication behind his accusation that Meralco executives get free
electricity for their homes. Yet another, that he was actually the
reason why Vitug quit.
Some quarters have little love lost for the
Lopezes—and Garcia had apparently hoped to capitalize on that
sentiment. However, he should not expect to win the public over by
simply making us hate his enemies too. Before anything else, he
needs to make the public like him. But how can people like someone
if they cannot even believe him?
Garcia has predicted a debacle in Tuesday’s
Meralco stockholders meeting. He should not expect the media to help
him fuel public anger over that looming defeat.
dansoy26@yahoo.com
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