By: Alex P. Vidal
“Let’s be naughty and save Santa the trip.” — Gary Allan
BOTH the feuding Panay Electric Company (PECO) and the MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) appear to be disrespectful of the Yuletide Season, where the Christian world celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ and promotes Christian ethic, love, peace, humility, and forgiveness.
They kept on firing bullets in their respected cylinders as the Ilonggo consumers, their clients, observed the spirit of Christmas.
Following the filing of administrative charges in the Supreme Court by MORE Power against the presiding judge of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 35, Daniel Antonio Gerardo Amular, PECO head of Public Engagement and Government Affairs Marcelo Cacho accused MORE Power of bullying Amular, who took over from Judge Yvette Go and issued an Order, later on, suspending the expropriation case MORE Power had filed to take over PECO’s electric distribution facilities.
Amular’s order halted the issuance of the actual write of possession earlier granted by Go before the Supreme Court required Go and MORE Power to show cause why they should not be cited for contempt for proceeding with the case despite the pendency of MORE Power’s own appeal before the Higher Court.
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We understand that the legal battle between the Cacho-owned PECO and the Enrique Razon-backed MORE Power is far from over and is expected to exacerbate in 2020, thus they should have a tacit agreement to spare the season from their fireworks and resume their shootout in January or any month after Christmas 2019.
With a week more to go before 2019 expires, we expect the two warring camps to finally have a ceasefire until the New Year.
If one camp can’t control its enmity toward its rival, the other camp should reserve the bullets and ignore the rival’s saber-rattling.
The court won’t side with the loudest and the more loquacious adversary.
There’s neither gain nor merit if one party will use the season of love and forgiveness to question the motive of one party and prolong the legal argument.
Public opinion will be harsh to those who will transform “the most wonderful time of the year” into an occasion of vitriol and acrimony.
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Also, we can never expect any credible ceasefire between the government forces and the Communist Part of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA).
Since time immemorial, both camps have poor records in ceasefire during the Christmas Season.
While the cooler heads are heading to the negotiating table, the war freaks, those with guns and other deadly weapons, plot an ambush or engage in a treacherous undertaking without any sanction from the ones willing to smoke the proverbial peace pipe for the time being.
Since the time of Marcos, Aquino the mother, FVR, Erap, Gloria, Aquino the son, and now President Duterte, we haven’t heard of any credible ceasefire between the military and the leftist rebels.
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FEUDING Bacolod City Mayor Evelio “Bing” Leonardia and Youtube broadcast commentator Ben Tulfo also did not have a ceasefire while the Christian community was waiting for the baby Jesus Christ to be born.
Leonardia’s supporters in the City Hall, as well as in the City Council and the media, blasted the hard-hitting Manila commentator in their own locality, while Tulfo used the power of his national program to paint Leonardia, some “corrupt local media”, and Councilor Al Victo Espino in bad light.
Their quarrel, which wasn’t settled as of this writing, is also expected to languish in 2020 and, perhaps, beyond with no possible peace in sight, judging from the heavy emotional outbursts both camps have been shelling out these past weeks.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)
