EDITORIAL – Never mind the political motive if it brings good

The accusation is that a giant television network has become so excruciatingly critical of the administration that it was forced to hit back at one of the most vulnerable of the other companies owned by the network owner.

The accusation goes on that in order to do this, the administration employed an agency that owns a huge chunk of shares in the vulnerable company --- a power distributor --- to start harassing it from within.

The bottomline in all this is that politics is the common thread that runs through the controversy. That, however, is a bottomline that is very difficult to subscribe to, considering that it is self-contradictory is sustained.

Consider for instance the elimination of politics from the picture, if ever that is even possible. Does it mean to say that without politics everything is actually hunky-dory, that everything is just a figment of a political imagination gone wild?

Only the naive would buy that, however, for as we all know by now, with or without politics, the truth has emerged that the power company has engaged in some very highly unethical business practices that worked to the great and miserable disadvantage of consumers.

The practice alone of letting consumers pay for the company's own electrical consumption is grossly reprehensible that, in less Christian-oriented countries, would have already sparked bloody riots.

Let us all be thankful for that, since we do not want a riot in our hands, a civil strife where there can be no winners, only sure losers. But let us not allow such practices to continue. Let us all be vigilant for responsible corporate policies.

One thing this country needs to eliminate for its own good is the habit of ascribing to political motives any attempt to seek an accounting or clarification. The truth is, nobody cares about political motives so long as these serve a practical and beneficial purpose.