Ex-UP Law dean defends student who drove car in QC flood

A former Law dean of the University of the Philippines (UP) on Wednesday defended a student who drew insults from netizens after he was seen on television trying to drive his car through deep flood water. “You may be amused by the mistakes or misfortunes of others. But this does not entitle you to degrade their entire character or make conclusions about their whole person," said former UP College of Law Dean Marvic Leonen in a Facebook post defending Christopher Lao, the driver whose car was seen on television floating on a flooded street with Lao behind the wheel. “Christopher Lao does not deserve the treatment he is getting from others on Facebook and Twitter. And yes, he is from UP College of Law and we are still proud of him," Leonen added. Shown by GMA News on Tuesday, the video of Lao is now viral on social networking sites and, as of this posting, has made him the 8th trending, or most discussed, Twitter topic worldwide. Intended to show the public the hazards of driving through flooded streets, the video has been taken down from this web site by GMA News after viewers were sharing it accompanied by insults aimed at Lao. But a growing number of social media users, Mr. Leonen among the more prominent of them, have also expressed sympathy for Lao and defended him publicly. "In such instances, social media is prone to abuse by its users because people feel so entitled to give their ten cents' worth of thoughts on a person they hardly know," wrote Julie M. Aurelio in response to Leonen's post. "Constructive criticism is a far cry from judgment." Howie Severino, editor-in-chief of GMA News Online, issued this statement: "Mr. Lao was already victimized by the flood and a lack of warnings. He shouldn't be victimized again. Many of us could have been in his situation. We are urging the public to stop the insults. We regret that our video, which was meant to provide a lesson for all motorists, was used in any way to make fun of another person." — With Paterno Esmaquel II/VS, GMA News