Phantom in the dark

I thought I have heard everything, until I read the story about a supposed assassination plot against Vice Governor Agnes Magpale. Assassination plot? Against Magpale? Why would anyone want to kill Magpale? There is neither any reason nor anything to gain by eliminating her.

Magpale is perceived by many as a nice and gentle person and could not have made many enemies, if ever. And while she may have made a fairly good account of herself in politics, she is not exactly the type anyone would consider a political heavyweight and a threat.

Magpale is not a stand-alone politician who, on her own, can make herself win or even carry some of her teammates to victory. She is the bandwagon kind, you know, the one that needs something to ride on, which is precisely why she fared fairly well in all her forays into politics.

In other words, she is not a dangerous politician -- dangerous in the sense that, on her own, she can wreak havoc on the politician careers of others. Magpale is far from that type of politician. She can summon a great following, but only among those already sold to a previous political idea.

In her case, she benefitted tremendously from being associated with the party in power. I am not saying she is a political nobody. But I think her political lot would have been tougher had she not identified herself with the Liberals of Noynoy Aquino.

To be on the side of Noynoy at this time is to already have one foot through the door. That is true as well in the case of her governor, Junjun Davide. I dare any Cebuano to imagine Davide winning Capitol if he had not been identified with Noynoy, the same dare I made in fact with regard to Noynoy without Cory.

But that is another story. Magpale, I say, is no political pushover. But she is no king-maker nor a heartbreaker. She is important but not important to kill. And so I can never bring myself around into believing there is an assassination plot against her.

In fact, it would have been more believable if, say, the reported plot had been made against former governor and now congresswoman Gwen Garcia. Now there is a strong stand-alone leader, a politician who wields great power and influence, someone who can be both king-maker and heartbreaker.

Don't get me wrong. I do not wish any harm to befall Gwen. In fact I truly admire her leadership. But there is one woman who, rightly or wrongly, can be too strong for her own good. A leader with her strength and resolve can produce many admirers, and probably as many enemies.

Between Magpale and Gwen on the subject of plots to do away with, I would find any against Gwen far more credible and serious than against Magpale. I am sorry but I just could not get around to accepting without reservations any talk about a plot against Magpale.

Aside from Magpale herself, there are two other reasons why I cannot force myself to buy that fantastic story. One is the source of the story itself -- a top police official who has shown unabashed bias for Magpale. The other is the refusal of that police officer to come out with real facts about the plot.

All that we have heard so far is Magpale herself quoting the police official as saying the alleged gunman is already in custody and has executed an affidavit. Where that alleged gunman is, only Magpale and the police officials know. And by the looks of it, they are not telling.

But why are they not telling? Isn't an assassination plot as much of a crime as an assassination itself? So what the hell are Magpale and the police official waiting for? Why have they not filed charges? Why have they not even showed him to the press, something the police does at the drop of a hat in other cases.

What makes this case so special? Does it even exist? Isn't it failure of duty for the police official to just incubate his suspect instead of bringing him to justice and expose his co-conspirators? Why is the supposed gunman being kept like a phantom? Is he meant for a darker and more sinister purpose?