The “Euro Generals” Scandal: A Cover-up or a Lapse in Judgment?

By Edsel Van DT. Dura

THE PRESS generally took on the he-said, she-said method at the onset of its coverage on the Philippine National Police (PNP) official who was questioned by Russian customs officers for carrying an excessive amount of cash as he was leaving Moscow.

Retired PNP police director for comptrollership Gen. Eliseo dela Paz and his wife were not allowed to leave for bringing 105,000 euros in cash (about P6.9 million), an amount exceeding the $10,000 (around 7,365 euros) maximum limit each passenger is allowed to carry. Dela Paz was part of the eight-member PNP delegation that attended the International Police (Interpol) Assembly in St. Petersburg in Moscow from Oct. 7 to 10.

While the case of the “Euro generals”, as some reports have tagged the PNP officials, was under investigation, PJR Reports monitored media coverage from Oct. 14, when online news sites first flagged the incident, until the end of October. The monitor covered three major broadsheets (Manila Bulletin, Philippine Daily Inquirer, and The Philippine Star), three major television news programs (TV Patrol World of ABS-CBN 2 and 24 Oras of GMA-7 as well as the government-run Teledyaryo of NBN-4), and online news organizations (abs-cbnNEWS.com, GMANews.TV, Inquirer.net, Newsbreak, The Daily PCIJ of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, and Vera Files).

Narrow context
The news media dutifully kept the public informed of developments and reported the reactions of different sectors and government officials. But over-reliance on the he-said, she-said format and on press statements limited the public’s broader understanding of the incident, which predictably drew criticism of the PNP.

Apart from mentioning that Dela Paz belonged to the same 1976 class as Director General Jesus Verzosa, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief General Alexander Yano and PNP Region 9 (Zamboanga) Director Jaime Caringal, who was also part of the eight-member PNP delegation, the press provided little background like the past positions Dela Paz has held and his achievements before he became PNP comptroller.

This could have helped establish De la Paz’s standing in the PNP. In its Oct. 21 editorial “Questions”, the Inquirer asked “(w)hy was De la Paz made the disbursing officer of the delegation when he was already retiring as comptroller? Was he that indispensable? Or was he one who could be trusted to keep the secrets of the group?”

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