SP probe shouldn’t be in aid of condemnation

“The next time you experience a blackout, take some solace by looking at the sky. You will not recognize it.”

—Nassim Nicholas Taleb

By Alex P. Vidal

MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) might walk into an ambush site when they attend the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) committee investigation spearheaded by the Committee on Public Utilities chaired by Councilor Romel Duron on June 30, 2020.
The hearing has been called to shed light on the disturbing frequency of power interruptions experienced by Iloilo City residents these past weeks amid the pandemic lockdown.
The power consumers’ irritation and inconvenience apparently have already reached boiling point that five aldermen: Eduardo Penaredondo, Ely Estante, Jay Trenas, Allan Zaldivar, and Duron are now itching to mount their horses and confront MORE Power in the Rubicon.
During the SP regular session on June 23, Penaredondo, et al started to warmup for the June 30 committee hearing by blasting MORE Power’s “frustrating” services, a telltale sign of the portent of things to come for the embattled MORE Power.
Despite the imminent entrapment, supporters of MORE Power are only hoping that the SP committee hearing will be done in aid of legislation, not in aid of condemnation.

-o0o-

Penaredondo himself admitted that “his heart trembled” in frustration aside from being “dismayed”, lamenting that the Ilonggo consumers don’t deserve a “lousy” performance as far as power is concerned.
The most senior SP member also recalled MORE Power’s promise to deliver a P1.8 billion modernization plan for their facilities which was reechoed by Estante who chided the new power distributor for not buying their own facilities.
Based on what transpired in the SP regular session on June 23, MORE Power has already been forewarned of the kind of artillery attack that awaits them on June 30.
What they don’t know is the type of ammunition their inquisitors will use during the firefight.
MORE Power is aware they will be grilled only for the deplorable blackouts that sometimes lasted for 13 hours especially during the weekend.
They will come only to justify the high tide and the low tide, not to own up to a tsunami.
They are aware they will have to always lean on the Department of Energy (DOE), which speaks their language concerning the problem’s technical aspect, for succor if push comes to shove.
Panay Electric company (PECO) will be as excited as the panel of inquisitors, but anything they will say that will bring further disdain and infamy to MORE Power will only be dismissed as a sourgraping and a wishful thinking since they are now “outside the kulambo,” so to speak.

-o0o-

WE’RE glad to have made a decision to stay put in New York City during the pandemic lockdown since March.
Anyone coming to New York from a state currently hard hit by the virus would now have to quarantine for two weeks, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced June 24.
The restrictions were reportedly based on specific health metrics related to the coronavirus.
Travelers from eight states—as well as New Yorkers returning from those states—would have to quarantine, at the moment.
Cuomo said: “We now have to make sure that the rate continues to drop. A lot of people come into this region and they could literally bring the infection with them. It wouldn’t be malicious or malevolent, but it would still be real.”
Failure to quarantine in New York could reportedly result in thousand-dollar fines.
Travelers to New Jersey and Connecticut would also be told to quarantine, though officials from both states said there was no enforcement mechanism at the moment.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Too fast, too soon

“Electricity is really just organized lightning.”
—George Carlin

By Alex P. Vidal

WHEN power interruptions began to annoy the residents of Iloilo City amid the coronavirus-mandated lockdown early this month, we sounded an alarm that enemies of More Electric Power and Corporation (MORE Power), particularly its rival Panay Electric Company (PECO), might use the furor to pound MORE Power with heavy molotov before the bar of public opinion.
This was after the metropolis experienced a nerve-tingling 13-hour power blackout first week of May.
“The Ilonggos are ruthless and unforgiving when it comes to protesting against any power outage,” I warned in my article. They don’t care anymore if it is PECO or More Power that provides them electric services. Just give them a fair deal and they won’t give a damn which power company to acknowledge. All they want is efficient service and unhampered power distribution. Anything less would mean an apocalypse of verbal denunciation.”
Another “long” power blackout will again reportedly occur anytime this month and in the coming weeks thereafter. 
True or not, this isn’t funny anymore.
MORE Power better shape up or shut up.

-o0o-

ON the other hand, we find it too premature for Congress to jump into the gun battle and “probe” the “frequent” power interruptions under the tutelage of MORE Power. 
In fact, House Resolution No. 785 has already been reportedly filed “probing the status of the distribution of electricity in Iloilo City to ensure that power distribution will not cease and that the people of Iloilo will not be affected” by Party List Rep. Sony Lagon.
Too fast. Too soon. So embryonic.
MORE Power is only in the infant stage of serving the Ilonggos and it will now face the Inquisition because of a wispy crime?
It looks like somebody has been waiting only for someone inside the movie house to slip in the banana peel and shout “fire”.

 -o0o-

A 40-YEAR-OLD mother from Arevalo, Iloilo City has a message for Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Leonor Briones:
Dear Secretary Briones, I believe you have so many fulfillments in life. I also believe your parents were so uncompromising in taking care of you when you were a child, protecting your skin from the mosquitoes and other elements. I further believe your parents would never want to put you in any danger and risk your life just to fulfill their dreams for you. And I strongly believe you are aware that education is not the only important bridge to become successful. My teacher once said, “You should have the sense of empathy towards your fellowmen.” 
It could also succinctly mean that education is nothing if we don’t know how to consider the feelings of others. In short, be sensitive enough to the needs of others by putting your shoes on the parents of the students.  
To reach your age is what we parents have dreamt for our children. Do you think if we send our children to school and study in a room with a maximum capacity of 15, they will be secured from the coronavirus? 
As a doctor of education, you are considered as “witty and well-trained” in all aspects of strategies in the field of teaching. You have been through a lot of trainings that have sharpened your skills not only as a good teacher but also as a better person and a responsible parent.
May I respectfully suggest that instead of sending our children to school in these uncertain times, let’s adopt a system where we can use the modular and give the students scheduled tests at home?
I am motivated by a desire to have a better plan in teaching instead of complaining and doing nothing. I am also a mother and very much aware like other mothers that this year’s education can be considered as a bonus.
The whole school year, even without the COVID-19, some students always have a hard time coping up with their studies at school because of so many hindrances; some of which, aside from the coronavirus, are overpopulation of students, limited number and sizes of classrooms, and shortage of teachers. 
The specter of COVID-19 has resulted in the exodus of more OFWs going home, and most of them are husbands of teachers and parents of children we have exhorted to strictly follow the social distancing at school.
When they sit in their chairs, move in their surroundings, and use the comfort rooms, how are they going to disinfect? And what about the teachers? Who will protect them? 
Norman Cousins once said, “Respect for the fragility and importance of an individual life is still the mark of an educated man.”
As a parent, I can’t in my conscience put to risk the safety of my children.
Education is important but I value my children’s life over their dreams to become professionals someday. Coronavirus might turn their bright future into ashes; I love my children so much and they are my life.
I also call on my fellow parents to reecho my sentiments and help campaign for the modular mechanism and teach our children at home. Remember we can do this all together because we are the first parents and their teachers are the second. Secretary Briones hear us parents! LOVELYN “LOVEFAYES” PANIZAL-GEDUQUE.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Most abused, harassed during the lockdown

“If you want that good feeling that comes from doing things for other folks then you have to pay for it in abuse and misunderstanding.”

—Zora Neale Hurston

By Alex P. Vidal

NOW that most areas in the country have been declared as under the general community quarantine (GCQ), it’s time for the Ilonggos and the Filipinos in general to rejuvenate, move on and leave behind the specter of the novel coronavirus with extreme caution.

Most of us can now slowly inch our way back to normal life and begin to restructure our mothballed jobs and productive activities but without throwing caution to the wind.

Health and safety measures should continue to be our main priorities even if our movements will now be unshackled albeit limited.

We can’t allow the pandemic to forever snatch away our enthusiasm to sustain and live the kind of life we basically aspire. 

Everything will come to pass, but we can’t subdue the novel coronavirus overnight and celebrate prematurely. 

There is still a need for us to do a little sacrifice and show that we belong in one community. 

There’s no shortcut to a total liberation. 

Everything must undergo a series of trials and failures, if necessary, before a full plateau or dream recovery from the pandemic nightmare is reached.

Nevertheless it should be the right time to shed away the psychological and emotional anxieties inflicted by that harrowing lockdown that temporarily separated us from the “real” world.

-o0o-

The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Philippine Army (PA) are the most overworked and harassed agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

Like the public school teachers during the election day, the cops and military men were the favorite punching bags and scapegoats of just anyone wishing to violate the laws and guidelines on the quarantine and lockdown during the crisis.

Instead of being accused of bullying, the men and women in uniform were the ones who were bullied and ridiculed in the checkpoints for doing their job. 

During the pandemic, the men and women in uniform have been away from their families manning the checkpoints 24/7 to see to it that the enhanced social distancing and lockdown guidelines were strictly observed. 

What they got in return for implementing the laws and helping contain the spread of the coronavirus were brickbats, insults, among other forms of harassment from uncooperative and quick-tempered law violators.

We saw a lot of viral videos where arrogant individuals, after disregarding the guidelines on the social distancing and the wearing of mask, would physically attack the cops and military personnel manning the check-points after lashing at them like kindergarten pupils.

Despite their audacity and abhorrent behaviors, our uniformed law enforcers managed to control themselves and refused to retaliate using a force to neutralize the law offenders—except if they have become uncontrollable and were really looking for trouble. 

Nowadays if we meet a cop or a military man in the streets—with our without the lockdown—let’s not forget to thank or congratulate them not only for a job well done, but also for their heroism in helping contain the spread of the contagious virus.

-o0o-

MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) has tasted its baptism of fire of a public wrath after the Ilonggo consumers experienced a nerve-tingling 13-hour power blackout over the weekend in Iloilo City. 

It was probably the longest power interruption experienced by the Ilonggo populace ever since More Power scored a blitzkrieg against rival Panay Electric Company (PECO) in a series of court battles since 2019.

The Ilonggos are ruthless and unforgiving when it comes to protesting against any power outage. 

They have had enough in many years of being under the mercy of the power distributor.

They don’t care anymore if it is PECO or More Power that provides them electric services. Just give them a fair deal and they won’t give a damn which power company to acknowledge.

All they want is efficient service and unhampered power distribution. Anything less would mean an apocalypse of verbal denunciation.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

    

PNP chief no backbone

“Don't find fault, find a remedy.”

—Henry Ford

By Alex P. Vidal

IT’S been more than a week since Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Police General Archie Franciso Gamboa threatened to relieve regional police directors who can’t stop illegal gambling operations in their respective jurisdictions.

We were among those who expressed skepticism that illegal gambling, which is deeply rooted in the psyche of Filipinos enamored with the games of chance, will be banished in only seven days—unless the regional police directors are supermen.

Since we haven’t heard of reports that heads rolled in as far as Gamboa’s edict was concerned, we assume that the regional directors have successfully implemented and satisfied the PNP chief’s wishes.

But if one day illegal gambling operations will once again “resurface” or if reports will come out that there are—or have been—clandestine operations of illegal gambling monitored in certain areas, this means Gamboa is not being respected and feared by his men.

This means he isn’t different from other past PNP director generals who had also used the “stop-the-illegal-gambling-operations” soliloquy to impress the public but did not have the instinctual will to walk their talk. 

This means Gamboa, too, is puro laway (all saliva) and no backbone as leader of the 191,000 police force.

-o0o-

Don’t confuse the public.

This must be the gist of Iloilo City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 23 Presiding Judge Emerald Requina-Contreras’ order after after MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) went on what appeared to be a “post victory celebration” binge following the sheriffs’ implementation of the writ of possession in favor of MORE Power against its rival Panay Electric Company (PECO) on February 27 issued by the sala of Requina-Contreras.

The judge directed MORE Power "to remove all the ads pertaining to its full operation pending the resolution of the foregoing."

The ordered added: "MORE Power already made announcements on broadcast and social media that they are now in full operation of the distribution facilities of Iloilo City.”

The lady judge virtually put a gag order on MORE Power’s claim that it is now the sole power distributor in Iloilo City vice the PECO after the February 27 blitzkrieg.

Not to fast, the presiding judge ruled.

According to the presiding judge, MORE Power "may deploy their personnel to man and oversee the substations to exercise their possession and control the distribution facilities but the operations of the facilities should still be handled by PECO personnel who have the technical expertise."

She added: "To maintain the status quo of the operations, so as to give time for MORE Power to orient/train/immerse their personnel, before they can fully take control of the operation."

-o0o-

IT’S HERE. The coronavirus is officially here in the city where I live. 

The latest new released by New York City Health Department is that the Manhattan lawyer hospitalized with coronavirus is in “severe condition.”

The lawyer, identified by New York Post sources as Lawrence Garbuz, 50, runs a boutique law firm with his wife that also employs one of their four kids as a paralegal, according to information posted online.

The seven-lawyer practice, Lewis & Garbuz, is located across the street from Grand Central Terminal and specializes in matters including personal planning and wealth management, estate litigation, guardianships and elder law, its website says.

Garbuz and his wife, also 50, both graduated from New York University and earned law degrees from Yeshiva University’s Cardozo School of Law before marrying in 1995, according to a wedding announcement published in the New York Times.

Garbuz was initially hospitalized Friday at Lawrence Hospital in Bronxville, but was transferred on Monday to NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center in Upper Manhattan when his condition worsened.

He is reportedly being treated in the Intensive Care Unit.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Paraw Regatta in times of coronavirus

“Fear, left unchecked, can spread like a virus.” 

― Lish McBride, Necromancing the Stone

By Alex P. Vidal

WHEN the Iloilo Paraw Regatta Festival 2020 finally unwraps on April 1-5, the entire planet may still not be totally safe from the rampage of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

COVID-19 may still continue to grab headlines and the talk of the town.

By that time, death toll may have risen globally (so far the virus has killed over 3,000 people worldwide, the vast majority in mainland China and there have been more than 80,000 global cases, with infections on every continent except Antarctica), but no one can tell if the virus will disappear.

No one can tell either if Ilonggos, who are expected to march to the city beaches to support and cheer for their paraw, originally a native-style outrigger sailing boat constructed from wood and bamboo, and is comprised of a single hull flanked by two outriggers for stability, are safer if the event was held on its original schedule on February 23-March 1.

Would the threat against the health of Ilonggos (joining the crowd to watch the event) lesser on April 1-5?

-o0o-

Mayor Geronimo “Jerry” Treñas confirmed the new schedule over the weekend as decided by officials of the Iloilo Festivals Foundation, Inc. (IFFI) who met recently.

IFFI officials may have decided to push through with the popular festival—next to the Dinagyang Festival in January and Nuestra Senora de la Candelaria de Jaro in February—sooner or before the COVID-19 goes out of control and cripples whatever chances left to hold the festival during summertime.

Only one month separates the original from the new schedule.

Even if the coronavirus will be nipped in the bud this month, there is no guarantee that spectators watching the boat festival on April 1-5 won’t come home coughing and sneezing.

Since the coronavirus is feared to continue to wreak more havoc as it rapidly spreads globally, the Paraw Regatta Festival 2020 will fall within the period where people worldwide struggle to avoid if not overcome the virus’ deadly assault.

Now on its 48^th year, it will be a Paraw Regatta in times of the coronavirus.

-o0o-

SOME political figures who fought tongs and hammer against the embattled Panay Electric Company (PECO) since wayback in the 90’s went to the social media to express their “relief” that “finally, the battle (against PECO) has been won.”

This was after Iloilo City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Emerald Requina-Contreras recently issued a writ of possession and was implemented by the Iloilo City Sheriff’s Office, paving the way for MORE Power to take over PECO’s multi-million distribution assets in Iloilo City.

The political figures also took potshots at some of their fellow politicians who supported PECO during the latter’s halcyon years.

“Where are the politicians who once backed you?” one of these “victorious” political figures boomed. “What have they done to help you?”

These politicians who once openly supported PECO are, of course, still very much active in public service; many of them even regained their powerful seats in government in the recent elections.

But they have become sitting ducks in this issue; they have no more power and influence to wield since PECO’s woes against the MORE Power were already beyond the ambit of grandstanding, politicking, influence-peddling, and arm-twisting.

It’s now the court that dictates the tempo of the game, and it is the final arbiter of the dispute, not anymore the politicians.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

  

‘Exorcism’: PECO’s body, MORE Power’s soul

“The general fact is that the most effective way of utilizing human energy is through an organized rivalry, which by specialization and social control is, at the same time, organized co-operation.”

—Charles Horton Cooley

By Alex P. Vidal

MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) is like a soul without a body.

In order to exist and function normally in the material world, it needs a body.

Panay Electric Company (PECO), on the other hand, still has its body intact but the soul is now wandering.

A crisis of colossal proportion erupts when MORE Power wants and insists to inhabit inside PECO’s body.

Claiming “it has a soul of its own”, PECO defiantly and forcefully shows recalcitrance as it rejects MORE Power’s “consolidation” try. 

PECO, as the body, thinks it is more of an invasion and an attempt to “power grab” and totally take over someone’s body. 

If MORE Power, as the soul, wants to legitimize its own existence, it must find its rightful body and co-exist with me, demands the PECO. 

 -o0o-

The caveat is, once PECO, as the body, allows MORE Power, as the soul, to integrate, PECO will lose not only its body but its wandering soul will have no more chance to reunite with the body.

But to PECO’s chagrin, MORE Power sought the divine intervention and the latter decreed that MORE Power, as the soul, must not only integrate but occupy PECO’s body.

After a partial “invasion” of the body has commenced, PECO petitions the “higher gods” to reverse or stop the decree of the “lower gods.”

PECO views MORE Power’s presence in its internal system as an “exorcism” or the expulsion or attempted expulsion of a supposed evil spirit from a person or place.

Will the “higher gods” order to drive away the soul (MORE Power) from the newly acquired body?

Or they will sustain the decree and ask the “conquered” body (PECO) to accept “defeat” and pave the way for the total take over? 

 The “higher gods’” decision is more interesting.

 -o0o- 

SOME of my friends in Washington state and the neighboring Vancouver in Canada started to panic on Saturday when news broke out early on February 29 that a male coronavirus patient (wrongfully identified earlier as a female) has died, marking the first death in the U.S. from COVID-19, the illness associated with the virus.

Three of them work in a health center and in a nursing home. They are all females. They asked me to confirm the report even if they have already monitored the news in their local media sources.

It’s confirmed.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was sending out information that it was responding to "the first possible outbreak" of the respiratory illness in a long-term care center in Washington. 

The death was not associated with that facility.

Health officials in Washington said 27 patients and 25 staff members at the center have symptoms associated with COVID-19.

The Life Care Center of Kirkland said in a statement that new patients and visitors were being turned away, and patients and staff "with symptoms or who were potentially exposed are quarantined."

-o0o-

It was reported that the person who died was a man in his 50s with underlying health conditions, and there was no evidence he contracted the virus through travel, health officials said. 

They suspect domestic "community spread" of the disease, a new phase for the United States that began this week on the West Coast.

U.S. diplomatic officials said a 60-year old U.S. citizen diagnosed with the disease died Feb. 6 at Jinyintian Hospital in Wuhan, China.

The number of Americans who have so far contracted the virus, most overseas, rose to 69 Saturday, according to an NBC News tally.

Shortly after the announcement of the Washington death, President Donald Trump held a White House news conference to announce that the United States is issuing more travel restrictions and warnings to help prevent spread of the virus. 

He also said he is meeting with pharmaceutical executives to discuss work toward a coronavirus vaccine.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

It's not yet over 'til the fat lady sings

“True, it's not over till it's over. And even when it's over, it just begins again.”
― Kate McGahan

By Alex P. Vidal

THE final hymn wasn't played yet.
But it looks like MORE Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) will close the year 2019 with a major edge over its rival, Panay Electric Company (PECO), with its recent victory in the Supreme Court that halted the implementation of the ruling of the Mandaluyong City Regional Trial Court (RTC) declaring two sections of MORE Power’s franchise law void and unconstitutional.
Ilonggos saw MORE Power and PECO spend the 2019 in bloody legal skirmishes.
PECO, for sure, still have several aces up its sleeves and isn't in the mood yet of throwing in the white towel.
After this latest major setback in the SC, PECO is expected to go back to the drawing board and prepare for the next showdown with the MORE Power when they start the 2020 next month.
The more PECO is wounded, the more it is emboldened to assemble a larger army for a bigger battle.
After having seized the superior position, MORE Power won't sleep on its victory; instead, it is expected to tighten up its grip in the pivotal SC en banc decision and sustain the juggernaut.
The suspense and thriller movie of the year the Ilonggo electric consumers have started watching in 2019 will have a more intense and complicated continuation in 2020.

-o0o-

POLICE Regional Office 6 (PRO-6) Spokesperson, Lt. Colonel Joem Malong called as "fake news" the report that several school kids in Western Visayas were recently abducted by a group of men from Manila.
A "wrong information" is different from "fake news."
Since the abduction story was false, it's a wrong story or wrong information.
It can only be called as "fake news" if it was announced in the public in the form of a legitimate news item in the media: newspaper, TV, radio, Internet.
But if it came from unreliable and unverified sources and spread only in the coffee shops, barber shops, in casual conversations with no factual basis and not even a raw data, it's a plain and simple "wrong information."
Since the story about the abduction of school children was never processed as a news item (meaning it never met the basic news ingredients of who, what, why, when, and how) it could not be qualified to be in the category of a legitimate news; therefore it shouldn't be called as "fake news."
It maybe called only as a "kotso-kotso" (gossip) or "himu-himu estorya" (fabricated story).

-o0o-

The splendid performances of our athletes in the ongoing 30th Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) being hosted by the Philippines and the pomp and glorious display of excellence by the host country during the opening ceremonies is a different story.
We should be proud of it as Filipinos; we must proclaim it all over the world. No problem with that.
But the alleged corruption in massive scale of the country's sports officials and the accountability of Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano as head of the Philippine Asian Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) is another story.
We shouldn't be too overwhelmed by the success of our athletes and the splendor of the opening programs and parades that we will become deaf, mute, and blind to the major concern: some P6 billion of taxpayers money should be accounted for--only when all the athletes have gone home to their respective countries and the games were over.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

A game-changing SC verdict

“And here is the prime condition of success, the great secret. Concentrate your energy, thoughts and capital exclusively upon the business in which you are engaged in. Having begun in one line, resolve to fight it out on that line; to lead in it. Adopt every improvement, have the best machinery and know the most about it.”
--Larry Page

By Alex P. Vidal

AFTER a stunning 44-0-vote loss in the "Kangaroo Court" called the House Committee on Legislative Franchise on September 11, 2019, the Panay Electric Company (PECO) bounced back with news of a heavy victory in the Supreme Court (SC) decided on August 14, 2019.
SC's decision to shoot down MORE Power Electric Corp's (MORE Power) prayer for Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and writ of preliminary injunction against the decision of Mandaluyong RTC Branch 209 declaring as "void" and "unconstitutional" provisions of Republic Act (RA) 11212, which granted Enrique Razon's power company the congressional franchise to distribute electricity in Iloilo City, was a victory more thrilling than the agony of the House committee on legislative franchise debacle.
It was like Rome, under consuls Paulius and Varro, which lost to Hannibal's army of Carthage in the Battle of Cannae, a major battle of the Second Punic War in Apulia in 216 BC, but scored big when it defeated Greece in the Battle of Corinth in 146 BC.

-o0o-

As long as franchise holder MORE Power can't provide its own assets to distribute electricity, nothing can prevent PECO to continue with its operations to serve the Ilonggo consumers even with absence of a franchise, which expired on January 18, 2019.
PECO is empowered by law and was given the authority by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to ensure uninterrupted electric service amid the legal furor.
Congress gave PECO’s rival, MORE Power, the authority through a 25-year franchise to distribute power in the city through RA 11212.
The caveat is Razon's company must secure its own facilities in order to run a power business instead of taking over through an expropriation PECO's assets.
PECO's "defeat" in the House Committee on Legislative Franchise can still be transformed into "victory" if PECO can eventually secure a fresh franchise in its next attempt (a bill can be filed a year after the recent denial, according to the law), while the Supreme Court setback for MORE Power could be the game changer that would finally provide light at the end of the tunnel for the lingering issue.

-o0o-

U.N. UPDATE: NO TO HATE SPEECH. In the fast-growing digital age, hate speech can represent “a critical obstacle for LGBTI people” using online platforms, the UN’s top rights official told participants at a high-level segment on the matter on September 24.
“Unfortunately digital technologies have provided additional avenues for hate speech", UN rights chief, Michele Bachelet, told participants, which included organizers from the LGBTI Core Group, Ministers, senior officials, and members of the media.
The high-level discussion at the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly, aimed to address how different stakeholders can contribute to ending hate speech against LGBTI people on social media platforms and in traditional media, as well as ensure support for victims, when hateful words turn to violence.
The meeting stirred conversation around the right to free speech versus the license to hate, for which Ms.Bachelet offered an objective definition:
“Hate speech is any kind of communication, in speech, writing or behavior, that attacks or uses pejorative or discriminatory language, with reference to a person or a group on the basis of who they are”, she said, quoting the UN’s framework and plan of action for stamping out hate speech, introduced in June of this year.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Pimentel’s attack against PECO is inappropriate

“Fairness is not an attitude. It's a professional skill that must be developed and exercised.”
--Brit Hume

By Alex P. Vidal

IF they continue to treat the Panay Electric Company (PECO) like one of those Bilibid heinous crime inmates scandalously released by Faeldon and his corrupt cohorts, Ilonggos might be emboldened to rally behind the beleaguered power firm owned by the Cacho family.
They should refrain from treating PECO like a useless and hardened criminal.
PECO is a legitimate corporation manned by professionals with technical skills and managerial expertise on power distribution on a mammoth scale.
It’s not a sorority group or a fraternity organization that can just be disbanded easily.
Even if it is being stripped of its dignity and subjected to all kinds of insults and humiliation, PECO has continued to hang on for its dear life.
PECO wants to stay or continue with its service to the Ilonggos under the principle of free competition; it doesn’t demand to be given a special treatment through a sole or exclusive franchise like it used to enjoy. It does not agitate to kill or eliminate a competitor.
And it appears that with the Court of Appeals as PECO’s next hope to provide them a lease of life, PECO is like a cat with nine lives, not just a palooka who succumbs without giving a good fight.

-o0o-

After anti-PECO advocates elbowed, sucker punched and kneed PECO on the chin, the House Committee on Legislative Franchises joined the fray and kicked PECO while already grimacing on the ground.
This is the type of overkill that makes the Ilonggos unite; the type of persecution that will hurt the Ilonggos who love the underdogs regardless of the issues surrounding the tumult.
Bullying PECO should be the last thing its enemies should do.
And irresponsible statements coming from Deputy Speaker Johnny Pimentel would be the perfect recipe to swing sympathies in favor of the much-maligned PECO.
PECO’s franchise expired on Jan. 18, 2019. Instead of renewing it, Congress gave PECO’s rival, MORE Power, the authority to distribute power in the city through RA 11212.

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We can understand if Iloilo City lone district Rep. Julienne “Jamjam” Baronda will speak against PECO since she is from Iloilo City; she fully understands the issue and is very much aware of the divided sentiments among the power consumers.
But Pimentel, who is from faraway Surigao del Sur in Mindanao, can’t say with absolute certainty about PECO’s alleged failure or lack of success in its nearly 100 years of serving the Ilonggos as the sole power distributor in Iloilo City 180 barangays.
“PECO has not been providing good service. Electricity distribution is not the same as other businesses like a gasoline station or sari-sari store. This is more of service to the public. You have the responsibility to protect consumers’ welfare. PECO failed,” Pimentel was quoted by local reports based on his recent interview over DyFM Bombo Radyo Iloilo.
“What we did was to protect the interest of the people. Hindi kami ang may gusto niyan. Ang may gusto niyan ang taongbayan. Gusto nila mas magandang serbisyo ng power company.”

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Listening to Pimental malign PECO is like listening to Limahong, a Chinese pirate and warlord who invaded the Philippines in 1574 and who never lived in Europe, denying “the Glory that was Greece and the Grandeur that was Rome.”
As a non-resident of Iloilo City, Pimentel’s remarks against PECO was uncalled for and conduct unbecoming.
As committee chair, the congressman from Mindanao isn’t supposed to take sides and pretend he speaks with full authority and knowledge on behalf of the consumers.
He should have taken the neutral ground and heard both sides of the coin in a fair and buttoned up hearing sans emotional and political distractions.
Grandstanding Pimental should apologize not only to PECO, but also to the Ilonggos for insulting their intelligence.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Did PECO die the way Rasputin was killed?

"There are four kinds of Homicide: felonious, excusable, justifiable, and praiseworthy."
-Ambrose Bierce

By Alex P. Vidal

AFTER losing its franchise in January 2019, Panay Electric Company (PECO) refused to die like Grigori Rasputin, who was supposed to die immediately after being made to eat a cyanide-laced cake prepared by Prince Yussupov.
Rasputin survived.
The cyanide had no apparent effect.
Like Rasputin, the mystical adviser in the court of Czar Nicholas II in Russia, PECO "lived on" even after its certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) also expired four months later in May 2019.
PECO "survived" and continued to operate by virtue of a transition after Congress passed Republic Act No. 11212 that gave rival firm MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE Power) the franchise to distribute power in Iloilo City.

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The nephew of the Tsar and his cohorts couldn't kill Rasputin with one strike.
PECO had also survived after challenging RA 11212's validity and securing a favorable ruling from the Regional Trial Court in Mandaluyong City declaring portions of the law as illegal and unconstitutional.
Rasputin was only killed after being shot and beaten and then drowned in a frozen river.
Like Rasputin, PECO, gasping for breath, fought for its dear life through Abang Lingkod party-list Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano, who filed HB 4101 on Aug 22, 2019 in a bid to grant PECO a fresh franchise.
Did PECO finally die on September 11, 2019 after the House Committee on Legislative Franchises unanimously struck down Paduano's bill seeking to grant PECO the franchise to distribute electricity for Ilonggo consumers?

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It was my fifth consecutive year last Wednesday, September 11, 2019, to join the Americans as they commemorated the horrible 9/11 World Trade Center twin towers attack that killed nearly 5,000 non-combatant individuals.
As observed by Time's Ian Bremmer, every 9/11 anniversary that passes gets both easier and harder.
Easier, because time numbs pain, even the most searing and awful kinds of pain. Harder, because with time comes perspective, and 18 years later, the shock and enormity of those despicable acts continue to stand as one of the most atrocious deeds humans have ever perpetrated against one another.
"The passing of time also makes it harder because we can see more clearly the disastrous chain the events of that day kicked off, how they led to war in Afghanistan and then to war in Iraq, both wars that the U.S. is currently still waging. It’s hard to say that the world is safer place to live as a result of those wars. What we can say is that these wars have cost the U.S. plenty; trillions of dollars have been spent, thousands of lives have been lost, and U.S. global leadership has been forever tarnished, both in the eyes of those living in the U.S. and in the eyes of those living outside it," observed Bremmer.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

When the pie isn't properly sliced

"Everybody is identical in their secret unspoken belief that way deep down they are different from everyone else."
--David Foster Wallace

By Alex P. Vidal
IN other mega corporate ventures in the country managed by one clan that involves a public interest, we seldom heard--or none, at all--of an intra-family feud that threatens to paralyze the company's operations like what is happening in the Vallacar Transit, Inc. in the transportation sector.
Several years back, Iloilo City's Florete brothers also went tongs and hammer in their legal squabble over some issues in their properties, which also nearly threatened to break-up the family.
Like in the case of the Yansons, the public was startled that members of a prominent business clan that owns one of the biggest radio networks in the country, were at loggerheads and in the newspaper headlines for several months.
If the Yansons have Roy and Leo Rey, the Floretes had Marcelino and Rogelio.
The feud between the Florete siblings, however, was not as tension-filled as compared to the tumult that erupted in the Yanson family, where several employees and security personnel in the Ceres terminals had been disarmed and frightened during the territorial tug-of-war.

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When serious internal insurrections explode within the family-run corporation, it means only one thing: everybody isn't happy, or the pie wasn't properly sliced.
In all these wranglings and hullabaloos, however, it's always the court that has the final say, no matter how one party will attempt to resort to any extra-judicial alternative, or show of force and intimidation.
Meanwhile, despite managing the Panay Electric Company (PECO) in Iloilo City for nearly a century, the Cacho family never quarreled in public; all their corporate issues are tackled privately and peacefully.
Unlike the Yansons in the Vallacar Transit, Inc., the Cachos never washed PECO's dirty linens in public.
If the Cashos were in the news, it's because they worked side-by-side against the rantings and agitations of the consumers who went ballistic against the "astronomical" charges in their monthly bills.

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Also, we never heard the Lopezes tearing each other apart over corporate issues while managing the Meralco and ABS-CBN, among other family-owned public utilities.
What we heard and learned in the news was the smooth transition of management of their major prime properties from one family patriarch to another.
Ditto with the Gatchalians of the Cebu Pacific, the Sys of the Prime Holdings (that operates SM City), the Ayalas of the Ayala Center, the Gokongweis of the Robinsons and Universal Robina Corporation, among other big families engaged in mega businesses.
Bad management normally causes most of the organizational problems. Over and over, according to Ligthouse, it's their actions (or inaction) of managers that combine to be the hidden, root cause of these major, valid concerns.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

No need to worry

"The more we can organize, find and manage information, the more effectively we can function in our modern world."
--Vint Cerf

By Alex P. Vidal

THE ongoing reshuffling and reorganization of key positions in various government offices should not be treated as a tidal wave and a major event.
Many fresh administrations all over the country are doing the same, not just in Western Visayas; not just in the city and province of Iloilo.
Reassignments and revamps are normal. It's the prerogative of any local chief executive.
What is not normal and should be denounced is when vindictive elected officials start to lower the boom on employees identified with their rivals in the recent elections and kick them out from their lofty jobs.
If they were only reassigned, they can still regain or retain their jobs and they won't lose their livelihood.
Their families won't half-starved and life must go on.
It's another story if they are summarily dismissed even if they are permanent employees and, as a result, are forced to forage for food so that their loved ones won't starve to death.
In government service, sometimes it's best if we refrain from making a mountain out of a molehill.

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When the wobbling Panay Electric Company (PECO) recently filed a criminal case against former Iloilo City councilors Joshua Alim and Plaridel Nava, Presidential Consultant for Western Visayas Jane Javellana, and former politician, Dr. Marigold T. Gonzalez, the news came out simultaneously in all the major publications, broadcast and TV networks with a loud thud.
The timing when the news blasted its way to public was something that catches the eye: after the May midterm elections.
PECO administrative manager Marcelo U. Cacho filed the case on June 27, 2019. Media screamed in unison about it on June 28, 2019.
It's very rare for news about a case being filed against a prominent person or group of persons to immediately attract a helluva attention from the media and delivered simultaneously--unless it's a flash report from a press conference.
In the story of the creation of the universe, scientists call it a "Big Bang!"
Even if the accused won't be convicted when the case reached its climax, the purpose of letting all and sundry know that the key players in the anti-PECO movement have been slapped with a criminal complaint, was already served.

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Even after Chief Supt. John Bulalacao has left the Regional Police Office 6 (RPO-6) as regional director and turned over the post to Chief Supt. Rene Pamuspusan in a ceremony on June 27, 2019, the Philippine National Police (PNP) has not responded to our report on the alleged massive recruitment of "soldiers" for enlistment in the armed forces of the "Royal Maharlika Tribes 1-Nation" recently in Calinog, Iloilo.
Recruits were made to fill up a form with a sub-title of "Panay Tribal Governance for Self-Determination and Empowerment" and "Rejahnate of Panay."
In the article we wrote most recently, we asked this question: "Are we bring governed by another sovereign state right in our own independent civilian republic?"
"Are the police and military authorities keeping a blind eye on this supposed enlistment in a private army?"
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)

Burn the house, kill the rats, or transfer?

“I had nothing to offer anybody except my own confusion.”
--Jack Kerouac

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- The sudden appearance of placard-bearing “pro-Panay Electric Company (PECO)” rallysts at the Plaza Libertad in Iloilo City in the Philippines showing support for the PECO and opposing the entry of PECO’s rival, More Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power), on November 26, 2018, has raised so many eyebrows.
Who wouldn’t be surprised?
It’s like seeing the remnants of holocaust victims petitioning the Vatican to declare Hitler as a saint.
Who were these Plaza Libertad pro-PECO protesters?
Where did they come from?
Who organized them?
We didn’t know there were Ilonggo power consumers willing to risk their lives, limbs, and reputations for the much-maligned PECO.
We didn’t know--until those placard-toting ragtag individuals displayed their fangs and sought to influence the authorities--that the PECO has a fan club.

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Do they have social activities other than showing canine loyalty to the PECO?
Do they hold a regular meeting?
When was the “fan club” founded?
Just curious.
PECO, which is asking Congress to renew its franchise set to expire on January 19, 2019, became so unpopular because of its alleged poor services, its being insensitive to their plight, negligence, astronomical bills, dilapidated meters and lamp posts, among other serious shortcomings.
For nearly 100 years, PECO has served Iloilo City consumers, but its litany of sins to the vexed and impatient consumers is also as old as its age and apathy.
When one walks in a village in Iloilo City today, seldom can you find a resident, a power consumer, who won’t spew a vitriol against the PECO, much less refuse to say derogatory words against the PECO if asked whether he is satisfied with the power firm’s services.

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For most Ilonggos, PECO is now like Mary Magdalene, cursed and condemned; and about to be stoned.
PECO needs a Christ to protect it from stone throwers, and it is hoping Congress will act as the miracle man who will admonish PECO’s tormentors.
PECO also needs that miracle man to help it obtain a 25-year franchise extension now slumbering in the House committee level.
Thus it’s inconceivable that a faction of consumers was defending PECO and holding a rally just as MORE Power was wooing the city aldermen who were holding a regular session in the adjacent Sangguniang Panlungsod.
Where were those angry (that MORE power will enter and operate in Iloilo City) rallysts when thousands of (their fellow) Ilonggo consumers were crying for justice against PECO’s alleged injustices to other anti-PECO faction?
We find it bizarre that they didn’t hold a similar rally or noise to compel PECO to honor its obligation to the paying public, stop making life difficult for the consumers, provide them with adequate and better services, and modernize.

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Since the pro-PECO rallysts were also power consumers, weren’t they affected by PECO’s purported abysmal services like what the majority of the consumers have been enduring?
There are two schools of thoughts in the pro-PECO rallysts’ petition to block another power firm that promises to provide better services, manpower and equipment to the benighted Ilonggos consumers for fear that the company “has zero experience in the power distribution industry” and might only “plunge Iloilo City into darkness.”
One, they would rather want the rat-infested house to remain standing and hope that the authorities will kill the rats even if the owner won’t initiate the killing spree.
Second, they are willing to live with the rats, for the time being, as long as the authorities won’t burn the entire house and wait for authorities to lower the boom on the owner even if he is doing nothing and, in fact, allowing the rats to reign supreme.
For a regular Ilonggo consumer fed up with what’s going on, he doesn’t give a hoot whether the rats are killed or the house is totally burned.
He only wants to transfer his residence.

Watch your words against 'PECO 7'

"There are groups of haters who always try to malign my image. They question my character and make all kinds of false announcements. It hurts because they assume things and without any proof in hand."

-- Divyanka Tripathi

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- The Panay Electric Company (PECO) issue has not only divided the city officials, it has also caused animosity among some of them.
And if they are not careful, some city councilors will end up at loggerheads even before congress can make a decision on PECO's fate.
Emotions are now running high after seven members of the Iloilo City Council submitted a position paper to the House Committee on Legislative Franchises November 22 "earnestly" requesting "to resolve the issues balanced, fairly and squarely, for the best interest of everybody."
Councilors Eduardo Penaredondo, Lady Julie Grace Baronda, Ely Estante Jr., Reyland Hervias, Mandrie Malabor, Leizel Zulueta Salazar, and Jose Efrain Treñas were referring to the alleged overbilling and poor customer service issues against PECO.
Except for Penaredondo, the six councilors had earlier voted in favor of a resolution "vehemently opposing" PECO's application for extension of its franchise which will expire in 2019.
The seven may have been wheedled by the joint statement of the Iloilo Business Club, Inc., (IBC), Federation of Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Panay, Inc. (FFCCCP), and Ilonggo Producers Association (IPA) seeking for an "unbiased independent assessment" from the City Government in order to eke out an "informed decision on the options that are available."

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Their position paper implied that they were now apparently giving PECO a new lease of life in as far as the electric utility's appeal for renewal of franchise for another 25 years is concerned.
This did not sit well with hardline anti-PECO city councilors Joshua Alim and Plaridel Nava, both #NoToPECO25 movement convenors.
Alim, who made a power point presentation against PECO during the House committee hearing on November 22, has vowed to "bring up" the matter during their next regular session on November 28.
The problem is neither Alim's forthcoming polemic against the position paper of his seven colleagues nor the seven city councilors' seeming "change of heart".
It's the ugly speculations from hard-boiled anti-PECO protesters that the seven may have been bribed.
In fact, some of these angry and unyielding anti-PECO hooters have started lambasting the so-called "PECO 7" in the social media with nary a shred of evidence.

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This type of reaction is dangerous, and could trigger a melee that would only make matters worse for the crusade to protect the interests of the more than 50,000 power consumers in the metropolis.
While we support the move to compel PECO to improve its services and fulfill with all honesty and candor its commitment to the consumers and relinquish its role to distribute electricity to the Ilonggos if it is unable to do so, we don't agree that the issue would be pelted with unsavory accusations against some members of the city council, notably the "PECO 7" based on hearsay and emotions.
On the other hand, PECO must yield if it can not sustain the legitimate demands of the consumers after its 94 years of dominance.
It should refrain from forcing its existence to the throats of the unforgiving consumers that have suffered tremendously from apathy and lack of transparency by asking for another 25 years of service if it thinks it has ceased to provide quality life to the Ilonggos.

There are many options available and they should all be ferreted out and considered without fear and favor before 2019 so the public may know.

We can win vs Lucifer, but not against PECO

"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
-- Francis of Assisi

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- Based on recent developments, some Ilonggos have this bizarre hunch that Panay Electric Company (PECO) might still be able to extend its franchise for another 25 years.
Since our city officials aren't united, it will now be easier for PECO to mount an offensive, grab the yellow jersey, and weather the storm.
The Ilonggo consumers thought they had scored a checkmate when the city council recently passed a resolution "vehemently opposing" PECO's application for extension of its franchise that will expire a few months from now or almost a year away
It turned out "victory" wasn't yet crystal clear--and might even slip away if miracles will not come from heaven.
The telltale signs were written on the wall when one councilor, Eduardo Penaredondo, did not vote yes.
Not only that.
Penaredondo had also boldly criticized the resolution penned by Councilor Joshua Alim hinting that it was done haphazardly.
No matter how unpopular may be his stand, Penaredondo came out flailing and swinging like a pugilist.
When a senior member of the local legislature sneezes, the entire House chokes.

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Penaredondo was vocal member of the 1993 city council that allowed PECO, then wobbling on both knees from incessant and bone-jarring protests from the consumers, led by lawyer Romeo Gerochi and the late Councilor German Gonzales, to snatch away victory from the jaws of defeat.
As if the uppercut was not enough, Mayor Jose Espinosa III, of all people, emerged in the scene singing a different tune that could stymie the city council's musical show.
And, just in case some of us have forgotten, lone district Rep. Jerry Trenas was only waiting a few blocks away to possibly pull the plug for the crusaders and change the entire program.
Trenas, Espinosa, and Penaredondo (TEP) are three of the most senior city officials who apparently aren't keen on severing city hall's ties with the private electric company owned by the Cacho family.

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When they (TEP) flex their muscles in this maelstrom, all the cookies will crumble.
The Iloilo Business Club will always side with the status quo for obvious reasons.
After everything has been said and done, it will still be PECO that will have the last laugh no matter how passionate and protracted may be the fracas.
The procession will go back to the church no matter how long may be the route.
The fight against Goliath has always been catatonic for the hapless power consumers.
Since time immemorial, PECO has stood ten feet tall even after the fat lady has rendered an award-winning performance on stage.
We can always defeat Lucifer in a no-holds-barred combat, but it's always impossible to notch a victory against PECO.
An exasperated Roman poet Juvenal once raised a protest, "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" or Who will guard the guards?

Now is the right time

"Never give up, and be confident in what you do. There may be tough times, but the difficulties which you face will make you more determined to achieve your objectives and to win against all the odds."
--Marta

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- The right time to compel Panay Electric Company (PECO) to seriously address the major concerns and problems the Ilonggo consumers have been grappling everyday, is now.
It's now or never, in fact.
If PECO can get away with murder and manages to secure another 25 years of extension of its franchise without being obliged to fulfill its duties and obligations, the more than 50,000 power consumers in Iloilo City will have to agonize for another 25 years.
PECO apparently did not satisfy most of the metropolis' electric consumers as manifested by their strong stand against its application for renewal of franchise.
If they fought tooth and nail to oppose PECO's canticle, the city council, led by Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon, probably wholeheartedly believed in the sentiments of the consumers.
After all, most of them are consumers themselves.
The city aldermen must have realized that PECO has reneged on its promise to do its best and serve the consumers better if its application for extension of franchise in 1993 was approved.


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It turned out that the same problems that cropped up during the public hearings for PECO's extension of franchise in 1993 in the Sangguniang Panlungsod, were almost the same after 25 years.
PECO's franchise will expire in 2019, thus it is asking congress to renew it for another 25 years.
The Sangguniang Panlungsod, however, had passed a resolution "vehemently opposing" the application.
The local legislature wanted the public hearing set on November 22 in the House of Representatives to be held in Iloilo City so that more stakeholders can be given the chance to attend and air their suggestions and grievances.
But even if the city council had already made a "solid" stand on the issue, Mayor Jose Espinosa III is adamant to support it.
He raised serious concerns of services vaccum, among other possible "interruptions" should PECO fails to get another chance to serve the consumers in the next 25 years.
If the house is divided, it can't stand on solid ground.
It appears that the city council did not have the last say on this very passionate and urgent subject matter.
There is still the city mayor and, perhaps, Rep. Jerry Trenas, who might give PECO a standing eight count, or eleventh hour miracle, whatever it may be, when push comes to shove.
Both Espinosa and Trenas have expressed sentiments that they would respect the city council's stand, but most Ilonggos can now read between the lines: both the city mayor and the congressman don't share the same boat with the city councilors in as far as the PECO imbroglio is concerned.