By BEHN FER. HORTALEZA, JR.

EASILY the hottest issue last week (and the previous week) in City Hall and media circles was the brewing tit-for-tat between Publisher Ermin Garcia, Jr. of the newsweekly Sunday Punch and environmentalist Nick Melecio.

Both friends of ours from our various advocacies now and before, we really think — at the risk of being rebuffed by either or both for offering unsolicited advice — they should each be sticking t the issue, a very real one to be sure, of a full investigation of the now tentacled foreshoreland scam over at Bonuan Binloc. So unfortunate for brilliant and courageous men like them to be waging a now almost personal fight in the news and commentary pages. We find that such a waste!

Sidelining the landgrab issue a bit , we believe Ermin’s aside in his first column that mentioned Nick was simply a spice added, a friendly ribbing, that has somehow been the punctuating line of Ermin in his column pieces, something like a canvas artist’s tell-tale mark in his masterpieces.

Unfortunately, Nick failed to appreciate it for what it was worth, or really meant. That it became the igniting spark of a brushfire which both men now seem to be recklessly fanning with personal innuendoes and biting sarcasm thrown left and right, would only delight the original targets of Ermin’s expose on the land scam in the Tondaligan area (or, around it, as Nick seems to suggest in an open letter) because the issue coud unwittingly be sidetracked by the raging word war. It takes the heat off from them.

Ermin, Nick, nothing like sitting down together over coffee or C-2 (or whatever poison of choice) and reviewing the aims of your well-meaning crusades for good government and healthy envronment now — before the madding (howling?) crowd of opportunists and carpetbaggers out there begin to get very comfy, really comfy, at the superheroes’ suddenly going on mutual annihilation mode.

No one ever dies from words — however biting these may be. That’s the secret mantra for de-stressing. Insult is but a state of the mind.
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At last Thursday’s Kapihan where utilities — telecom, electric power and water services — got the once-over from local media, it was clear these units or agencies are ably run by men who knew their business. It’s a comforting thought to have none of the bumbling, stammering, groping kind of executives during such media “cross-examinations.”

For sheer clarity of explanation and coolness under fire, Engr. Dominador Liwag (brother of our good friend from the city schools division, Flordeliza –failed to get his designation though) of the Dagupan Electric Corporation, gets our vote.

Too bad we failed to take down notes wqhe he rattled off figures and dates (no charts or kodigos there, see?) on Decorp’s basic concerns to answer probing questions from our media colleagues. The main thing that I can recall was his line that Decorp is only one of the few electric companies in the country that does notapply penalties for late payments.

In sum, he said the customer is actually given 38 days within which to settlehis bill and that Decorp disconnects a consumer’s line only on the 40th day or thereabouts and charges no penalty for the payment delay when he finally settles his due payment.

Electric cooperatives, according to a friend, on the contrary, can’t claim the same thing since they add astronomical penalty charges and reconnection fees for such disconnections.

Which somehow leads to the question: Why is Mangaldan, a neighboring town of Dagupan, holding out from availing of Decorp’s services despite the long, painstaking cry of its residents to be rid of their electric cooperative’s less-than-reliable services?

Yes, mayor Hermie Romero, why?

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The other Patrima guests , PLDT Dagupan Manager Gerardo Marquez and Engr. Adolfo Valle of Dagupan City Water District didn’t fare badly either in the exchange with media panelists led by Patrima prexy Butch Velasco. Both showed a remarkable degree of savvy in providing a bird’s eye-view of what the public can expect from their company/office by way of improved services in the near future.

More guests of their kind, please, President Bush, er, Butch.

And, oh, yes, Happy Valentine’s to all lovers, young and old, passionate or reserved, moneyed or penniless, erect or hanging down. lol!