Adding to the volatile mixture is a dash of politics and an obvious duel for corporate dominance.

It has drawn greater attention of city desks of newspapers and broadcast stations to satisfy public clamor for more information on the squabble.

In all aspects, the GSIS-Meralco imbroglio has glued public interest in the spat. The protagonists in a sense represent millions of people. The government pension fund has almost two million members and pensioners, and the power company serves more than four million customers.

As they say in a figurative manner, "When giants fight, the small fry watching from the sidelines are shaken."

The event developed when GSIS president and general manager Winston Garcia, in press statements and interviews, asked the power firm to stop charging customers the "systems loss" and other unpopular charges. He also challenged Meralco to be transparent in its dealings with its own members of the board, stockholders and the public.

Garcia asked the power firm to open its books of accounts. The requests went unheeded. The government, chiefly represented by Garcia, has four seats in the 11- man Meralco board.

Stung by the Garcia tirade, Oscar Lopez, patriarch of the Lopez family who are majority Meralco owners, bellowed: "I’m sick and tired of this business. If the government wants to run Meralco, it can buy us out!"

"We could immediately raise the money for the buyout. I have already sent notice to them (Lopezes) to discuss the terms,’ answers GSIS top honcho Winston Garcia.

Some congressmen have joined the GSIS offensive, including, obviously, the government’s propaganda machinery. The observation is that many print media establishments have been dominated by news stories favorable to the GSIS. Meralco’s countered with full-page advertisements in major broadsheets and tabloids.

Also, Meralco is defended by formidable broadcast information and entertainment networks, the big and high-tech ABS-CBNANC television and radio combine which command nationwide listenership and viewership audiences. The broadcast giant is owned by the Lopezes.

Curiously, the radio-TV conglomerates have been perceived to be critical of the Arroyo administration, all the more vis-a-vis government support in the assault against the power company.

In the face of all this discord, who is caught in the middle but Vice President Noli de Castro. Whether he likes it or not, he is drawn into the controversy and has become the target of public criticism and speculation.

He has maintained a deafening silence by not issuing a statement about his stand. He is said to be understandably loyal to the Lopezes because he had made a name as a popular broadcaster and TV host at ABS-CBN.

On the other hand, observers insisted Noli de Castro — and he admits it — was elected mostly by voters in the C,D and E segments of the electorate. It is then but proper that he must take the cudgels of the marginalized families which are hurt most by the much-criticized "systems loss" and "leak" charges included in their monthly Meralco bills.

Incidentally, the Supreme Court reprimanded Meralco twice, in 2003 and 2004, for overcharging its customers. In fact, the High Court ordered the power firm to refund R30 billion to its customers. The amount represented taxes that it passed on to them.

In the meantime, press statements in drove regularly find their way to news desks and newsrooms. Among the publicity items:

The National Labor Union has issued a critical observation on the vice president’s " no-comment stand." "He cannot wait for a script to be sent to him by his former employer because it would surely run against the interest of the people who, he claimed, voted for him," says the NLU statement.

Those sympathetic to Meralco:

United Opposition spokesman Adel Tamano — "If the government takes over Meralco, it will not only put the government in a bad light, it will also lead to inefficiency and corruption."

Senate President Manuel Villar has urged government to stay away from running businesses imbued with public interest such as Meralco. "The government has traditionally shown that it has never been a good manager."

Senator Nene Pimentel has expressed apprehension over government’s business prowess if it manages Meralco.

Among those cheering for the GSIS:

Manila Rep. Amado Bagatsing said the fight is between "the poor and corporate greed." "There can be no fence-sitters in this issue. Either you are with our long-suffering countrymen or you are not."

While Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, in a statement, says — "To defend Meralco whose high rates are making life doubly hard for our people, runs against the grain of many of my colleagues’ ( House supporters of Meralco) avowed stance in the past."

"Officials of Meralco should stick with the issues on its questionable power rates, its purchase of power from its own independent producers and its perceived lack of transparency even with its own shareholders, including members and pensioners of the GSIS," states lawyer Estrellita Elamparo, GSIS spokesperson.