‘While we share the people’s interest to know the truth, it is pathetic to see media — both social and mainstream — giving this story the mileage that it is getting, when there are more important problems and events happening.’
THE case of flight attendant Christine Dacera, 23, who died in the first few hours of this year after a raucous private party in a Makati hotel, has remained in the nation’s consciousness during the last few days, and will linger for some time before it finally fades as a non-news.
The episode, however, will have a telling effect on her gay friends, some of whom are respondents in the rape-slay case now already filed by the Makati police, and their families. There have been sensational crimes, rape and abduction cases, and murders of young, pretty girls before and newspapers, radio and TV had a heyday reporting but nothing compares with Christine’s tragedy because it happened on the day of social media when everybody has easy and instant access to the thought milieu.
This instant access and ability to publish one’s thoughts through Facebook Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc. enabled the public to actively participate in the discussion and very public scrutiny of this incident, sometimes overshadowing the official government probe itself. In a matter of days, the number of Monday morning quarterbacks has increased, in inverse proportion to the number of licensed forensic experts of the country.
While we share the people’s interest to know the truth, it is pathetic to see media — both social and mainstream — giving this story the mileage that it is getting, when there are more important problems and events happening.
Christine’s death also brought out the propensity of many to jump to conclusions without proper appreciation of the facts, or even the most basic effort to collate whatever facts and data may be collected from first-hand sources.
The authorized source, the medico-legal’s first autopsy report that conclusively showed that Dacera was not raped, was even doubted by some, and the officer who did his/her job now stands to defend his/her professional findings in court.
Meanwhile, Christine’s gay friends who were her companions at the New Year’s eve party, along with their families, were harassed and intimidated by social media denizens. The bounty offered by some politicians, well-meaning or not, did not help any in pacifying the situation, since authorities were convinced that these gay persons were safe enough to release from police custody.
The trouble with many Filipinos is that they relate to a sensational occurrence based on their previous biases — pro- and anti-death penalty, pro- and anti-LGBTQ community, etc., etc.
We suppose it should be enough to send our condolences of the Dacera family and refrain from condemning Christine and her friends’ behavior, although the IATF, the authorities and many citizens would disapprove of rowdy partying amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is important, however, to look into where the hotel management, the police, the politicians, and the online cabal are remiss in their duties and responsibilities in connection with this event.
