In Latin, Leo means Lion, the avowed King of the Jungle, who rules with majesty and might. The Lion is feared by his enemies and loved by those he protects.

It is therefore, not mere coincidence, that the changing of the guards as the Bishop of the Diocese of Tagbilaran, a diocese of 50 parishes and close to half a million faithful Catholics ends and begins with a Leo.

We say adieu to the first Leo, Leopoldo Tumulak, who has been appointed bishop of the military ordinariate of the AFP/PNP, leaving behind 14 meaningful years of spiritual journey with us as a concerned shepherd focused on Basic Ecclesiastic Community (BEC). He will be best remembered as a "true friend and counselor" to all sectors, including those in the underground movement who feel as outcasts of society.

Filling the large shoes of Bishop Tumulak is another Leo - Bishop Leonardo Y. Medroso, D.D. who was installed as Tagbilaran Bishop last Thursday - warmly welcomed by 300 parishioners, priests, nuns and some top government officials.

Leaving behind 19 years of dedicated service in his parish in Borongan, Samar, Bishop Medroso is living by the motto of "ambula coram me," words with earlier reference to Yahweh the Lord of Abraham and the Spanish connotation of the family name Medroso representing "in awe, in fear." As with Abraham, the new good Bishop will "walk in God's presence, to abide with his laws and to submit to His Will."

A new assignment in Tagbilaran will always deepen his faith as Bishop Medroso accepts the new mandate from the Holy See, gifted with such eloquence that made him the chair of the Episcopal Commission on Canon Law of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). His vast experience in running other dioceses and parishes and his abiding faith in God and his people, will serve Bishop Medroso in good stead as he shepherds his new Tagbilaran flock.

Welcome, Bishop Medroso.

POWER AND WATER

The least we can say is that we should keep politics out of the issue of the power and water rate hikes and ownership of such utilities.

Between the three players in the morality play, involving, Government, Salcon and the Public, media will always side with the Public. Simply put, the public deserves adequate and readily available utility service (power and water at reasonable, affordable rates).

That is the long and short of it.

The recent move of the Salcon to increase power rates and a hefty 40% hike for water rates, raised the hackles of a cross section of the community who was staggered by the immensity and timing of the fee rates. The government has protested the increase in behalf of the consumers, with the Provincial Government offering to buy back the 70% private ownership of Salcon (likewise the City Government) and the City Government doing one step better b asking the Courts to issue a TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) on the water hike.

The Government is again moving to buy back from Salcon the remaining 70% of equity ownership, with the handsome adage that the consumers' welfare in basic utility needs should not be left entirely in the hands of the private sector, which, the assumption goes, is primarily for capitalist profits, and consumer welfare, second.

The Regulatory Bodies have scientifically-based benchmarks to manage the profits of utility firms (which is a function of the rates imposed on the consuming public) and any request not violative of norms approved by Government itself, will be allowed. That's the primary reason for being of Regulatory Bodies - so that rates are not arbitrarily set to the detriment of welfare economics and in favor of capitalist greed. We have to accept that.

The crux of the matter, it seems, is the accounting treatment of the financial statements of Salcon, who claimed losses the past five years - thus arguing for the fact that no dividends could possibly be declared in fiscal years of financial losses.

There are accounting schemes, patently accepted internationally, that give leeway to treatment of depreciation and goodwill and when to expense or capitalize expenses.

Thus, every businessman knows there is a difference between an accounting loss and a cash loss.

Therein lies the debate whether Salcon is making profits or not. Until that new audit set by government on the Salcon figures is over, one's claim of profit or loss could go either way.

We just hope, that all the cards and facts should be dealt on the table, and an enlightened judgment be made on the issue that should all congregate at one single point called: public interest.

The fact that 2007 is an election year and that the former Bohol governor Rene Relampagos is now dead set on running for the third district of Bohol are ingredients that muddle the issue of welfare economics. One recalls that it was during the incumbency of Relampagos that the utility firm was sold, allegedly, for the price of a "song," after the government had repiped the lines and so on.

That issue reportedly partially cost Rene the gubernatorial post, pundits say.

But we beg all the players to kindly refrain from beclouding the issue because the Public, at the end of the day, will see through the charade - and will return the favor come May elections especially to those who have less than the Public's welfare entirely in mind.

Any deviation from that, serves private interest. That is not good.