Saturday, December 15, 2007 Editorial: New watchdog
THERE'S a new watchdog in town. It's highly interesting for its rainbow "colors", a curious collar and a quotidian trick. Its shakers and movers call it the Kapampangan Coalition, Inc. Headed by Fr. Restituto Lumanlan, himself an interesting public persona, KCI is made up of assorted groups, some or most of them unabashedly proud of and fundamentally loyal to Governor Ed Panlilio.
This fact, notwithstanding, Fr. Lumanlan denies that the watchdog's collar is apolitical even if its agenda is political in nature.
How else would you define the watchdog's mission to forge unity among the contending political forces in the province?
For credibility sake, a better definition is rightfully in order.
Fr. Lumanlan, to buttress this point, has insisted that KCI is not pro- Panlilio.
At this point, it's not fair to doubt his apologetics even if his affinity with the governor in many ways seems to argue persuasively otherwise.
How the coalition will go about ensuring good governance in the province is yet to be shown.
And the devil will certainly be on the details. As a watchdog, it could probably bark, whether it could bite, that's another matter.
But, a watchdog, like any dog, can be muzzled or distracted. And where loyalty goes, a dog usually is absolutely loyal only to its owner, a person or a family.
Of course, being new at the task, the watchdog deserves to be given all the chance it needs to prove that it can bite as well as it can bark. Or whose bite is worse than its bark.
Or that it doesn't bark at its own shadows.
The uncanny resemblance between this coalition and its canine counterpart can be quite intriguing.
The public can't wait to see what's ahead for this new pet of sorts.
Old watchdog. If there's anybody who claim moral ascendancy to lead a coalition like the Kapampangan Coalition, Inc., Fr. Restitution Lumanlan is one.
He's been there, done that, especially during the time of former Governors Lito and Mark Lapid.
At the time, he was identified with the Lapid camp whose members include the old rich and famous of Pampanga.
His huge and painstaking efforts for Pampanga, especially during the height of the Mt. Pinatubo crisis, are well-known and widely acknowledged. His public support for reform in the corruption-riddled quarry tax collection was strong and fearsome.
Under his leadership, the new watchdog bears watching.
