Editorial - Revisiting the ghosts of yesterday

Remember Norwegian Sven Erik Berger and his Cebuano fiancée Karen Esdrelon? Well, they are back in the news again after they virtually threw the kitchen sink at those responsible for their nightmare.

Berger and Esdrelon were wrongfully arrested, detained and charged in connection with the abduction and murder of six-year-old Ellah Joy Pique, one of the most sensational crimes to visit Cebu in recent years.

They were later cleared, and the man believed behind the botched investigation, Cebu provincial police chief Erson Digal, got relieved. Another set of suspects, Briton Ian Charles Griffiths and Cebuano girlfriend Bella Ruby Santos, are now the subject of a nationwide manhunt.

But Berger and Esdrelon are refusing to stay quiet in face of these recent developments. They are now seeking P220 million in damages from Digal and other police and immigration officials, in addition to suing them criminally and administratively.

Berger and Esdrelon, of course, have all the right to seek compensation and demand that those responsible for their ordeal be punished. Whether it is the correct thing to do, however, is an entirely different matter.

The balm of a clear conscience is often enough for most people. Besides, even if Digal, et al, botched the investigation, there was little or no showing of malice and mischief in their failings. If at all, they are simply guilty of reckless and unrestrained zeal.

Officers of the law ought to enjoy the right to presumption of regularity in performance of their duties, otherwise the threat of suit from each and every shortcoming can eventually prove as a disincentive to zealousness in pursuing investigations.

This is not to say that mistakes ought to be condoned, especially when mistakes deprive one of liberty and result in ruined reputations. On the other hand, redemption that comes with a multi-million-peso price tag can seem a little too tacky.

Berger and Esdrelon also ought to be advised that another court case, even with the roles reversed, can still prove indirectly ruinous to their reputations, as the circumstances that led to the new case will have to be recalled and reviewed all over again.