Last July 25, a terrible incident occurred on the streets of Quiapo, Manila. The CCTV footage that showed a bicycle rider and car driver getting into a physical altercation, after which the latter shoots the former point-blank in the face, went viral on social media primarily because of Top Gear Philippines. The popular Facebook page of the car magazine and automobile website released several posts related to the incident, mainly in an attempt to search for the car driver in the video and bring him to justice. After the website was tipped to a certain Nestor Punzalan based on the supposed conduction sticker in the video, the page posted a link to the man’s social media account, with the disclaimer that “nothing was 100% verified.”
Of course, the collective reaction of the netizens of the Philippines was to flood Punzalan’s account with death threats and angry comments, without any conclusive evidence or any sort of trial against the man. When Punzalan cleared his name by appearing before the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and submitting himself to medical tests, and when the police later identified the suspect as Vhon Tanto, Top Gear issued an official apology on its website. By then, however, the damage had already been done.
The amount of psychological and mental trauma suffered by Punzalan–an innocent man whose social media accounts were besieged by ridicule and nasty comments–cannot be measured. Punzalan has since deactivated his Facebook account and even plans on suing Top Gear Philippines itself. While the page does bear some of the blame in this situation, however, it was the Filipinos themselves who chose to flood Punzalan’s account.
When we jump to conclusions and believe everything we see on social media without possessing the prudence or proper judgement necessary, we’re no better than the administration that immediately presumes criminals as guilty until proven innocent. In the same fashion, the rash behavior exhibited when we branded Punzalan a murderer is the same behavior we criticize the government for having when they shoot to kill men and women suspected without any fair trial or due process.
Being proactive and seeking justice does no good if these are not accompanied by the patience, proper research, and critical thinking needed to discern the multitude of accusations we come across, both in major crimes of national relevance and in our day-to-day lives. We cannot lambast the government for condemning criminals if we ourselves buy into everything we see, read, and hear about other people without properly analysing the situation ourselves first.
Even something like the newly elected set of University Student Government (USG) officers seeking to begin their term should be met, not with the hasty judgement of Punzalan’s accusers, but with the prudence and critical thinking necessary. While student politics seems a far cry from the killings on the streets, the issue is no less relevant. After all, much will be said about the new members of the USG, both good and bad, and it becomes our responsibility to not only listen but to find the truth in what is said—not truth because it is easy to believe, or what we want to hear, but because it is the objective, unbiased truth.
In a time when extra-judicial killings seem commonplace and with bodies turning up left and right across the country, when a fresh national administration begin to make moves in order to instigate radical change, and when a new set of USG officers make bold promises, it is our duty more than ever to not rush into rash decisions, but instead to, maintain a critical mindset, for the sake of both our country and our University.
