Torre schools Napolcom on trial by publicity over viral rider-pushing incident involving a cop

Remember when you were probably outraged by a viral video of a rider who crashed after being pushed by a policeman on a busy road? The valuable lesson it imparted against trial publicity, according to former national police chief Nicolas Torre III, should not only cover netizens but must also be expanded to include government agencies mandated to exercise fairness in the pursuit of justice. And Torre is referring to the National Police Commission (Napolcom), headed by lawyer Ralph Calinisan whom he accused of turning the agency into a venue for trial by publicity and premature judgement. “If a policeman commits wrongdoing, he must be held accountable. There’s no debate about that,” said Torre, who is now the general manager of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). “But as a lawyer, you should know even better that justice is not achieved through a press conference, but through due process,” he added. Torre was referring to the statements made by Calinisan that he would hold not only the policeman involved in the incident accountable but also for the investigators and chief of police for supposedly filing the wrong case. But what bothered Torre was when Calinisan was quoted saying that the policeman in the viral video had the intent to kill when he pushed the rider. “As a lawyer, he knows that this kind of accusation is not established by microphone but by evidence. Anger is not enough, impression is not enough, and a video clip is not enough,” said Torre. The viral video clip triggered anger among the rider community and netizens as the it showed that the policeman appeared to have pushed the rider for no apparent reason. A few days later, it turned out that the rider appeared to have provoked the policeman who cut his way while traveling along a busy road. This changed the mood among netizens, most of them are now bashing the rider who first uploaded the video clip. And for Torre, this is the part where the lesson about fairness and due process must be learned. He then reminded Calinisan to be wary of his action since he does not only represent the Napolcom but also compromises the reputation and dignity of policemen and their family. “You are a judge of administrative cases, not a prosecutor of media circus,” Torre told Calinisan.