Veteran journalist Ed Lingao took to Facebook on August 24 to discuss some important points in the death of 17-year-old Kian Lloyd delos Santos.
He pointed eight things in the case, responded to the netizens, some of whom slammed the media for allegedly blowing Kian’s case out of proportions, and addressed other issues.
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First, he talked about how Kian’s case was “deliberately muddled” and pointed to the bottom line – whether Kian’s killing by the cops was “justifiable.” He also hit Caloocan City Prosecutor Darwin Cañete for his posts about Kian and recalled how the same fiscal wanted to “kill certain groups and political affiliations like cockroaches.”
- The issue, like many before it, has been deliberately muddled. The issue is not whether the boy was a courier, a runner, or a pusher, or even whether 17-year old teenagers have been taking part in the drug trade. The issue is whether his death was a justifiable killing by the police. Hindi mahirap maintindihan iyan, pero ang daming mga tao na nililihis ang isyu. Ang bitaw pa ng isang piskal sa Kalookan, hindi kapani-paniwala na “super innocent” ang bata – sabay hirit na “The media narrative is too black and white. Without evidence, it would be unfair to ascribe which one is guilty or innocent.” On one hand, pinagmukha na niyang guilty of something, anything, ang bata, pero pag dating sa pulis, aba, huwag magmadaling sabihin kung guilty or innocent.
Then again, this fiscal is known in social media for his, uhm, brave and blazing commentaries on the need to kill certain groups and political affiliations like cockroaches.
We found what is said to be Cañete’s post about Kian that was shared by his fellow Duterte supporter, Sass Rogando Sasot.
And this is the screenshot to Cañete’s post expressing his opinion on how the Yellows should be destroyed.
Second, did the media blow Kian’s case up? Lingao said it is only right for the public to express outrage when the cops who are paid to protect the people are the ones killing the people.
- Pinalalaki daw ng media?
Teka, we train, arm, and pay policemen to protect us and enforce the law. Everything they do as policemen, they do in our name. if they killed the boy in cold blood, dapat talaga magalit tayo kasi tayo ang nagpasweldo at nagbigay ng baril sa kanila.
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Magalit ka sa kriminal, pero lalo kang magalit kung ikaw ang nagswesweldo at nag aarmas sa kriminal.
Third, Lingao explained that Kian was not more important than the victims of killers, rapists, and addicts, but when since cops are involved, the public has every right to demand accountability.
- Ahh, eh bakit parang ang laking tao ni Kian. Mas importante ba siya sa mga pinapatay ng mga killer, adik at rapist?
Ganito na lang po. Trabaho ng pulis habulin ang mga killer, adik, at rapist. Mga kriminal yan eh. Pero kung ang pulis ay mag-asal kriminal, double whammy po iyan. Pulis yan eh. Again, we train, arm, and pay them. In both cases, karapatan natin singilin ang mga awtoridad. But in the second case, mas malaki ang pananagutan nila.
Fourth, Lingao responded to accusations that the media were only covering Kian’s case but not those who were victims of crimes, which isn’t true at all. He enumerated some of the recent cases covered in the news, such as the Comelec chief’s case, Customs case, West Philippine Sea issues, and more. Lingao also urged more people to read beyond what they see on Facebook.
Lingao even threw shade at Uson when he wrote: “Bakit, saan ba ninyo nababalitaan ang lahat ng mga karumaldumal na krimen na iyan? Sa mga coverage ni Mocha?”
- Eto pa. Kayong mga media, bakit Kian lang kayo ng Kian! Di ninyo i-cover ang mga namasaker, o pinatay ng mga adik! O yung storya ni Bautista! Mga bias(ed) kasi kayo!
Uhm, kung di ka naman nagbabasa ng dyaryo o nanunuod ng newscast, at umaasa lang sa makikita mo sa mga katalinuhang pinopost ng mga kaibigan mo sa FB feed mo, eh ganun na nga yun.
Hindi lang po Kian ang mga storya na kinokover at nilalabas namin. Mayroon pong customs, merong Bautista, electoral tribunal, merong west philippine sea, at merong ibang mga krimen gaya ng riding-in-tandem, rape, masaker, murder, etc. Bakit, saan ba ninyo nababalitaan ang lahat ng mga karumaldumal na krimen na iyan? Sa mga coverage ni Mocha?
Kung ginagawa po ninyong pahayagan ninyo ang Facebook, huwag ninyo kaming sisihin kung kulang-kulang ang nakukuha ninyong balita. Ang FB ay social networking site. Social. Networking. Kung ano ang mga i-follow mo, i-like mo, at i-share ng friends mo, yun lang ang mababasa mo. Kung kulang kulang ang feed mo, aba eh ikaw ang kulang-kulang mamili.
Fifth, Lingao said that Kian’s case is not all about political affiliations, not just a battle of “DDS vs dilawan.”
- Tanong ng isang uhm beteranong journo sa presscon ni Digong, sang-ayon ba si digong sa sinasabi daw ng mga netizens na pinalalaki lang ang isyu ni Kian ng mga dilawan at ng human rights at ng mga kalaban ni Digong?
Obviously, leading at loaded ang tanong ni beteranong journo, diba? Sa sobrang leading, akala ko tuloy, rhetorical question na. Pero hayaan mo na.
Ang isyu ay hindi dilaw o pula. Ang daming hirap makuha ito. Ang mundo hindi umiikot sa pagitan ng DDS vs dilawan. Sasabihin ko sanang false dichotomy, pero baka mahirap pa i-spellingin. Kung mahina talaga ang thought processes, binary na lang talaga ang lahat.
Sixth, pointing out how Kian was only wearing boxer shorts, Lingao said that it would have been difficult for Kian to carry a .45 cal pistol, given the lack of a leather belt.
- On some details: The boy supposedly fired back with a .45 cal pistol. That is a hefty pistol, whose base model weighs 1.1 kilos. It’s not to say that a 17-year old can’t handle a .45 because I’m certain they can. However, the boy was wearing boxer shorts. Boxers. Last time I checked, boxer shorts do not come with a leather belt. Ang bukod tanging tao na magsusuot lang ng belt kasama ng kanyang underwear ay si Batman. O sige, isama mo na si Robin. Gayunpaman, utility belt ang gamit nila.
If anyone can tuck a .45 cal pistol into his boxer shorts and parade around the neighborhood, my hats off to that guy. So does that mean the boy was just holding the .45 cal pistol in his hand the whole time in full view of the public? Sa madaling salita, mahirap kumarga ng kwarentay singko kung naka boxer shorts ka lang.
In addition to his sixth note, Lingao slammed who could likely be Sasot for trying to justify why the gun was found in Kian’s left hand when he was a right-handed boy.
6a. One True Believer bent double trying to explain how the .45cal pistol could have ended up in the left hand of a right-handed boy. She said, oh he must have used both hands to fire the pistol, so it was not inconceivable that the pistol stayed with the left hand when he fell.
Hindi po baseball bat ang pistol, na dalawang kamay ang nakahawak sa pistol grip. When a man uses both hands to fire the pistol, he is really just using one hand on the grip, and using the other hand to support it. So hindi po magic na lilipat yung grip mula sa kanang kamay papunta sa kaliwa habang natutumba dahil lang dalawang kamay ang ginamit sa baril.
We found Sasot’s post about the said explanation about the gun in Kian’s left hand.
Seventh, Kian’s tested negative in the paraffin tests, although Lingao said that such test has inconclusive results and was no longer even conducted abroad.
- On the paraffin text, the boy tested negative. However, inconclusive ang paraffin tests, and most law enforcement agencies abroad refuse to conduct this kind of tests anymore. Did he fire a gun? The test doesn’t really prove anything either way. The bigger issue would be whether he had a gun to begin with.
Eighth, Lingao hit the fact that President Rodrigo Duterte himself is sending “mixed” signals from the start whenever he talk about Kian and the cops.
- Lastly, a big part of the problem is that the President himself has been sending mixed and dangerous signals from the very start. Yes, a drug war is necessary, yes drugs are a problem. Yet he is deliberately sidelining the institutions that are supposed to be the checks and balances. Media is the enemy. Human rights advocates are the enemy. Anyone who says anything critical of the drug war gets the dirty finger or more.Then his allies paint everyone critical with a brush dipped in yellow paint.
Yesterday, the President said he never told policemen that he will back them up if they commit a crime. Before that, he said he would grant absolute pardon immediately for policemen convicted of implementing his drug war. Yet at least three times, in three separate speeches, the President had publicly said that if he had been present in the drug raids, he would have brought the suspects to the back of the building and shot them himself. Each time he would say that, we would gape and ask ourselves, Did he just say that? Was that a joke? Or hyperbole?
Or do we need to use our creative imagination?
When the President speaks like this, do you still wonder what our policemen think?
As of writing, Lingao’s quick notes have been shared over 7,000 times.
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