Rigoberto Tiglao recently boasted that his column titled “Aquino camp faking letters to the editor” has been the most read and shared online opinion piece for a month. He warned of an incoming barrage of fake letters with a single Internet protocol address traceable to Malacañang—“there’s a P25,000 bonus for an operative who gets his fake letter published… Be on the lookout, dear reader… Google their names and they don’t exist, the only result are the published spurious letters.”
So, borrowing Tiglao’s mindset and prescribed method, I looked, Googled and found some of his fake letters to the editor under the fake name “Johnny A. Alisto.” (Well, I can’t really call letters published for its substance fake, only aliases that hide professional jukeboxes, like Tiglao.) Google the alias yourself, and you may find one sketchy unreachable profile from the United States with a silhouette for a picture… “the only result are the published spurious letters.” Alisto’s Jan. 19, 2009 letter reflects the style of a veteran journalist who is deep into politics and government. (Tiglao has been at it even before Noynoy Aquino became president.) His Jan. 16, 2012 letter is an epitome of bootlicking towards Chief Justice Renato Corona: “I would pitch in P1,000 from my pocket to help pay for his defense… win or lose, you are a real hero and a real Chief Justice!” If Alisto is a real person, please write and prove that Tiglao’s schizophrenic system for declaring people as non-existent or fake isn’t very reliable after all. Otherwise, Tiglao, a.k.a. Alisto, would seem the most hypocritical poseur/faker of all. (Here’s your mindset back Tiglao.)
Hypocrisy also characterizes Tiglao’s being the only Inquirer writer who does not allow his own “dear readers” to post comments under his columns. He intently enjoys this significantly unfair advantage over all other opinion pieces that come with comments when read or shared. The twisted truths and fabrications in his columns are not immediately checked and balanced by comments that can clarify, contradict, debunk or disprove his opinion. For instance, a posted comment can quickly point out that Malacañang would never be so stupid as to send a barrage of fake letters using one IP address, therefore the statement is quickly debunked as just another vintage Tiglao fabrication. And haay!… I could really use P25,000, but I never write for money. I hope I never do.
I read and share Tiglao’s columns. He’s not such a bad journalist when he writes truthfully.
Tiglao’s column in the Inquirer.net is missing its comments space. We’d be so grateful if the Inquirer corrected the glaring imbalance.
—ERNIE LAPUZ,
nitelites@rocketmail.com