Demolition job is a term that is defined quite differently in various disciplines. From the internet, i got two definitions. The first considers it as “the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down buildings and other man-made structures.” Obviously, the demolition that is involved here is a physical destruction. The second refers to the act of criticizing someone severely or telling other people things about them which maybe unfair or untrue in order to harm them or cause people to have bad opinion of them. The second definition is essentially character assassination. While I took the liberty of quoting this definition in toto, i hate to say that this is not, in itself, be very well crafted. It can stand rephrasing if only to achieve linguistic profundity but it is the very definition which this article is devoted to. I am referring to a demolition job, the character assassination that is being waged against the honor, integrity and name of Vice Mayor Michael Rama.
Starting from as far back as when I joined the city government in 1988 as a city councilor, I have yet to know of any sitting Cebu City vice mayor who has been the object of so viciously harsh a verbal and written abuse as Atty Michael Rama is being subjected to. In our time, thirty years ago, with then vice mayor in Atty Alvin Garcia, whose role was focused on herding the city council into crafting ordinances, I hardly remembered of any vituperative criticism leveled against him. Aside from Garcia and Rama, both lawyers, there were Vice Mayors Joy Augustus Young and Atty Edgardo Labella, none of whom bore the brunt of the vicious oral and written assault Rama is being pummeled with. It is even safe to say that there is no other elected official in our city today who is as maligned as the vice mayor. In my recollection, the vilification started not long after he assumed office.
What am I talking about? Let me mention the latest incident of malicious accusation against our vice mayor. Last Monday evening, I received an innocent looking message. It read “gibirahan na sad si Rama karon ni S... L... sa iyang programa... Grabe kaayo ang iya pamalikas”. Not having any inkling what the message was all about, I called the person who sent the message. Our conversation gave me an insight.
The radio personality, according to my informant, talked about 2 employees of the Cebu City hall who were allegedly found to be positive for illegal drug use. My caller “told me that the announcer claimed that the vice mayor is not dismissing these two 2 government workers as in fact he is their protector. In simple language, this announcer accused Rama, in blatant words, as a drug protector. There was an incredible volume of libelous accusations raised against our vice mayor. The words of the announcer sounded like he spoke from personal knowledge. His statements “na kadaut sa ngan ni Rama ug nakapahimo niya nga dautan nga tawo. By the way, this informant is willing to execute an affidavit on what he heard from the broadcaster on air.
Since public officials are fair game, are such allegations as the ones made by the announcer not covered by general rubric of free speech? This is why I say a demolition job is being undertaken versus Rama. The announcer knew that there were more than two city hall workers who yielded positive to drug test. And I suppose the announcer also knew that no one of them was hired by Rama. The vice mayor was not the appointing authority and he did not sign their employment papers as in fact, he did not know them all. A responsible broadcaster should be familiar with the theory that the authority to fire a worker belongs to the official who hired him. If the announcer is ignorant of the legal paradigm, he had no business talking about the vice mayor to the point of Rama’s communing with the devil.
Accordingly, the language of the broadcaster was base, crass, gross and indecent. My informant is certain that if the radio man can replay his recorded commentary and hear his own voice and expression, he will be ashamed of himself in a degree worse than how he pilloried Rama.
I said above that this Monday’s is libelous broadcast was the latest incident. I am told that the pattern is showing. A demolition job is on-going and Rama needs to initiate legal actions if only to make sure that his family name does not get irreversibly tarnished.