EDITORIAL - Of Siomai and the three Waterfront policemen

The police are reportedly filing a libel complaint against a woman who allegedly circulated a post on the social media accusing three policemen and a woman of not paying for the food they ate from a street vendor.

Chief Inspector Jose Gesto, the acting chief of Cebu City's Waterfront Police Station, said a case for violation of the Cybercrime Prevention Act will be filed against the woman for maligning the three policemen on her Facebook account.

The woman earlier posted pictures of the policemen online claiming a siomai vendor in the downtown area complained that the cops and the woman left without paying for the food they ate from his stand.

However, the policemen denied the allegation. They claimed that they had paid for the food and that the vendor even went to the station to clear their names. And for what they call as her damaging online accounts, Gesto said they decided to resort to taking a legal action against the woman.

We don't see anything wrong with the move of the police. They have every right to defend themselves from what they think are accusations from a post circulating in the social media.

However, there is one question that the Waterfront Police Station leadership should answer before pushing through with the legal action: did it launch a thorough investigation into the woman's Facebook post?

When the woman's post became viral online, there has never been any announcement from the station chief, the city police leadership, or the regional headquarters vowing an investigation into the incident.

It seems Gesto only anchored his decision to file the libel case against the woman on the testimonies of the vendor clearing the names of the three policemen. But such move can only trigger a public speculation that the vendor was being forced into siding with the police.

Good thing Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella has stepped into the picture, urging the Cebu City Police Office to look into the incident. The chairman of the Police Coordinating and Advisory Council also promised to discuss the issue.

Filing the case against the woman won't really help the three policemen. Instead, it would only create public criticism as to why Gesto immediately defended his men instead of ordering an investigation.