EDITORIAL - Father and son

Miguel Osmeña, the only son of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, is facing some allegations that are not just inherently serious in themselves but made even more serious by the fact that he is, well, the son of the mayor.

A young woman has accused Miguel of allegedly putting a bullet through her camera and then issuing threats by way of a text message that, in effect, said the next time the bullet would be through her head.

The woman is a friend of the girlfriend of Miguel, and the son of the mayor supposedly got mad at the young woman for allegedly abandoning the girlfriend of Miguel after she passed out from having had too much to drink.

Since Miguel is in the United States and has been unable to comment on the allegations, we will refrain from making any comment on the alleged incident involving him and the young woman friend of his girlfriend.

But there is another issue that necessarily proceeds from the main one, and that is how the elder Osmeña is dealing with the situation, both as a father of the family and as father of the city.

We will also refrain from delving into the manner in which Osmeña, as a father, whips his family into line. But we believe how he deals with the matter as father of the city is open to fair comment.

And we believe Mayor Osmeña is being too cavalier in saying that the allegations do not fit the profile of Miguel, meaning that his son could not have done what he is alleged to have done simply because he does not think Miguel could do it, based on what he knows of his son.

Parents can never be one hundred percent sure about their children because they are not with them every minute of their lives. There is even a saying that men only have their wives' word for it that a child is theirs.

We are not saying Miguel did it. On the other hand, Mayor Osmeña cannot wave away the possibility that Miguel did it simply because he cannot believe it. As father of the city, the mayor is obliged to open up to the possibility that someone close can be a danger to the city.