Curious case of Benjamin Magalong

Curious case of Benjamin Magalong | Daily Tribune

Can anyone really be absolutely objective? Even judges who are held to the standard of cold neutrality and impartiality have their prejudices and biases born of their personal experiences. However, being acutely aware and conscious of our “leanings” can help us understand issues and take a better position on things.

I first heard of Mayor Benjamin Magalong in relation to the inquiry into the tragic SAF44 Mamasapano encounter. I must admit I admired the courage and integrity he demonstrated in taking on the investigation knowing full well that a negative finding could alienate him and cause divisiveness among his mistahs from the Philippine Military Academy. The same career defining moment might have also cost him the chance of becoming the Chief of the Philippine National Police.

Later, I would have the privilege of working with him during my stint at one of the attached agencies of the Department of Energy where he was appointed to the Board of Directors. Confident yet never arrogant, he was mostly quiet, but when he did speak, he made sense and people listened. He was kind and sincere — neither patronizing nor grandstanding in his demeanor around others. Suffice it to say that he left a lasting impression.

I have no personal knowledge of the truth or veracity of the allegations Mayor Magalong revealed in recent interviews. As I listened to him, I found myself pondering that if these were untrue, what reasons or incentive could he have to make things up? Wouldn’t he be better served if he just went under the radar and sat this one out?

Last I heard, he is sure to win a third mayoral term. One could argue that he is sympathetic to former President Duterte’s camp as a former political appointee. But he served only briefly and opted to resign to run for mayor of his hometown Baguio. He was even “red-tagged” by an official of the NTF-ELCAC under the Duterte administration during his first term.

Even more curious in his case, if Mayor Magalong were spewing unfounded or baseless accusations, why has there been no outrage? No one has been sent out to attack or rebut his serious allegations. Neither has there been any threat of or actual legal action taken against him. Do they think he will tire and eventually fade into obscurity?

It is hard to put a good man down. Mayor Magalong strikes me as being of the good kind and his message is that he is not keeping his head down. Courage, Integrity, Loyalty are tenets all graduates of our premier military academy are expected to live by and Benjie Magalong epitomizes these virtues (rare in Philippine politics these days).

Many of those who once had it sadly lost their moral ascendancy as they succumbed to the temptation of greed and the allure of power. If only those who are dominantly featured in the current political zarzuela had retained even just enough credibility and integrity, maybe we would not be in this quagmire.

Will we have another mayor-turned-president-in-the-making in Mayor Magalong? If so, we can only hope (and I trust) that Benjamin Magalong will not be infected (as many others before him had) by the same disease that befell the hero who killed the ogre. [I refer to the “disease” that turns erstwhile heroes into ogres worse than the ones they killed].