Any report or information has to be checked, double-checked, counter-checked, validated and verified before making it known either to the authorities or the public. And this is what I always say to my companions, to my colleagues and to those working for the legitimate Philippine government.

We need details and not only details but specific and credible information and data to ensure that what we receive and trasmit are true, accurate and correct, otherwise we lose our integrity because of hearsay.

People in the intelligence community know that any and every piece of information must be checked, double-checked, counter-checked, validated and verified to avoid any misinformation and embarrassment.

Just recently, P/Col. Joseph G. Talento, Chief of Police, Makati CPS, led the investigation into the abduction of a 67-year-old woman in Makati that turned out to be false — it was not true. There was no kidnapping or abduction that took place.

The question is how come the police only found out the incident did not happen at all after the story had been published in the newspapers.

If I will use my investigator’s instincts and my probing skills I would question why the victim, alias Nena, who went to the police in General Mariano Alvarez, Cavite to file a complaint for abduction against her husband had declined to sign it, saying she would return another time. She never did. She did not return to the police to sign her affidavit.

Further investigation will always lead the authorities to something; there is always something hidden that will always come out into the open. I trust our police probers to be doing their jobs honestly with dedication, service and honor.

A proper investigation will always have a revelation, as it is said, “The truth hurts but the truth shall set us free.”

Take another example. I do not know what happened to the case of the mysterious death of a Chinese national inside a Philippine Offshore Gambling Operator (POGO) establishment in a shopping mall in 2019.

If I were the investigator, I would question the local government where it happened. Why did they allow a POGO that was apparently operating illegally in their area.

Why should we blame the owner of the establishment when in fact they had nothing to do with it? The mall was said to be owned by a wealthy family that is in business and politics. Nothing personal here, because I know them, they are billionaires, have businesses, more than enough to raise families. I was the one who blessed their properties and once in a while presided over liturgical celebrations for their in-laws and family.

The one to blame I think is the LGU; it is the one responsible for allowing the business in the locality. The illegal POGO operation was reportedly maintained by a Chinese businessman, a former presidential economic adviser.

Another thing an investigator should look into are the security lapses. Security guards are force multipliers of the Philippine National Police, meaning security guards are there to protect their clients, their properties and interests, maintaining peace and order within the bounds of law.

As such, how come the suspect was able to handcuff the victim, a Chinese worker who fell from the sixth floor of the mall while trying to escape through a window. The victim was found handcuffed and sprawled on the ground by a security guard.

Video footage showed that the victim, who succumbed to his injuries, was able to remove the window grills and attempt to escape. The victim reportedly sought to resign from his job but was required to pay back his employers.