Honasan's speculation?

Our common understanding of speculation is that it is the forming of a theory or conjecture even in the absence of firm evidence.

- Aven Piramide [e-mail]

If someone thinks or guesses about something for which there is not enough information to be certain, he is speculating.

I saw a social media post of former Senator Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan. In a specific portion of his post, Honasan said “nag lindol sa Cebu. Wala akong nabalita-an na may foreign aid na naman. xx Seguro ang nasa isip nuong nanuno-od sa atin sa ibang bansa ‘magbibigay tayo nang tulong, kukorakutin na naman,” I hope that I accurately quoted Gringo.

Let us break down Senator Honasan’s statement into recognizable parts. First, the former senator said that an earthquake hit Cebu. This was the tremor that devastated the northern part of the province on September 30. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, using the method first developed by Charles Richter, a seismologist based in California, reported that the quake’s magnitude registered 6.7. The Phivolcs also reported that it was a shallow earthquake and that was why it was more destructive due to its proximity to the surface.