A case of intellectual dishonesty

ATTY. CHE Carpio, in his latest column, channels Shakespeare in his defense. But I don't think the Bard of Avon will be of any help -- to one who is engaged in the selective use of data to support his preconceived notion.

A clear case of intellectual dishonesty.

And unfortunately for Bicol Mail, its editorial writer swallowed Che's propaganda hook, line and sinker in its latest broadside against the city government.

This compelled me to fire the following rejoinder (which benefited from a little tightening), with cc: to the Vox Bikol staff.

Dear Attorney Carpio,

I am amused by your latest column entitled "The insolence of office."

1. I don't think even Shakespeare can help you mask the fact that you have cherry-picked your data to support a tenuous claim. This is a clear case of intellectual dishonesty.

2. You may be entitled to your own opinion, but definitely not your own set of facts. In support of the quote from the report (summary) which I highlighted in my previous email, you surely must have seen the Final Credit Rating Report and the accompanying spreadsheet comparing the cities covered by the pilot World Bank project on the credit rating of Philippine cities, which I emailed to Julma (Narvadez) per your request.

Only a biased columnist driven by the need to cherry-pick data favorable to his preconceived opinion will deliberately ignore the report's contents in its entirety. On this note, why doesn't Vox Bikol publish the main text of the (whole) Credit Rating Report so that its readers can judge for themselves who is really engaged in spinning lies and half-truths? Let's see if Fr. Wilmer Tria will be up to it.:)

3. I don't think disparaging the Standard and Poor's methods will help you get out of this mess. Not happy with its message, so you now want to shoot the messenger? Is this how a "liberal" strives to find the truth?

4. Finally, nice try on that SPUKOI issue to muddle our conversation; Rolly Campillos of the Urban Poor Affairs Office (UPAO) is more competent to clarify that matter. But no, let's stick to the topic, please; the least that will come out of it is the education of Bicol Mail's editorial writer who swallowed your propaganda hook, line and sinker.:)

As I am writing this, Julma emailed she will take up my request with her editor, Eric Lagdameo.

But just in case Vox Bikol decides it's not up to the challenge -- which would have been a great contribution to Ateneo de Naga University's ongoing Philosophy Week celebration -- the internets, courtesy of Scribd, should do just fine.
Credit FA_Naga_ Final 31July09