President Rodrigo Duterte yesterday stepped up his threat to block the renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise, calling the network’s executives “thieves” for duping ordinary people.
Speaking in Malaybalay, Bukidnon, Duerte revealed that the Lopez-led ABS-CBN had been sending an emissary to secure the renewal of its congressional franchise. He said he turned the emissary down.
“Now, ABS-CBN’s franchise is due for renewal. They are sending an emissary to negotiate with me…. Nothing will happen. I will not talk to you but I will never also intervene,” Duterte said.
“But if I had my way, I would not give it (franchise) back to you. You are thieves. You are duping small people,” he added.
Duterte claimed ABS-CBN Chairman Eugenio Lopez 3rd had to retire because nothing was happening as far as the franchise was concerned.
He challenged ABS-CBN executives to let him slap them in the face if records showed he had less than P40 million in his bank accounts.
“This is a challenge which I am hurling at you now. Let’s go to the central bank and then I’ll tell them to open the computer and look at my account. If it exceeds P40mn, I will step down,” he said.
“But if it doesn’t reach P40mn, line up so I can slap you,” the president added.
Sen. Antonio Trillanes 4th had alleged that Duterte logged about P1bn worth of transactions using various bank accounts.
Overall Deputy Ombudsman Arthur Carandang had also said the Office of the Ombudsman possessed documents of bank transactions that showed the same thing.
This statement was what prompted Malacanang to dismiss Carandang, who was leading the probe into Duterte’s supposedly hidden wealth.
ABS-CBN has been a frequent target of Duterte’s rants, with the president accusing the network of accepting funds from him without airing his political advertisements.
To recall, Duterte said in April 2017 that he would block the renewal of ABS-CBN’s 25-year congressional franchise.
ABS-CBN’s franchise will expire on March 30, 2020. Its renewal remains pending in Congress.
In his speech during the inauguration of the Northern Mindanao Wellness and Reintegration Center in Bukidnon, Duterte hit Lopez Holdings Corp., which controls ABS-CBN, for not paying its debt to the state-run Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
He also again brought up his grievances against the Prieto family, owners of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, which he had accused of being biased against him.
“They used to be Lopez – Lopez Group of Companies many years ago. You borrowed heavily from DBP,” he said.
“At the end, at the maturity, your debt to a government lending institution, DBP, was condoned,” he added.
Lopez Holdings Corp. earlier said it did not have unpaid obligations to the DBP or other government financial institutions after Duterte announced on August 30 that he was going after the company over supposed debts to the state-owned lender.
Duterte also claimed the Prieto family, which owns Dunkin’ Donuts in the country, has not paid P4bn in tax liabilities since the previous administration.
http://www.gulf-times.com/story/601724/Duterte-opposes-new-ABS-CBN-franchise
Speaking in Malaybalay, Bukidnon, Duerte revealed that the Lopez-led ABS-CBN had been sending an emissary to secure the renewal of its congressional franchise. He said he turned the emissary down.
“Now, ABS-CBN’s franchise is due for renewal. They are sending an emissary to negotiate with me…. Nothing will happen. I will not talk to you but I will never also intervene,” Duterte said.
“But if I had my way, I would not give it (franchise) back to you. You are thieves. You are duping small people,” he added.
Duterte claimed ABS-CBN Chairman Eugenio Lopez 3rd had to retire because nothing was happening as far as the franchise was concerned.
He challenged ABS-CBN executives to let him slap them in the face if records showed he had less than P40 million in his bank accounts.
“This is a challenge which I am hurling at you now. Let’s go to the central bank and then I’ll tell them to open the computer and look at my account. If it exceeds P40mn, I will step down,” he said.
“But if it doesn’t reach P40mn, line up so I can slap you,” the president added.
Sen. Antonio Trillanes 4th had alleged that Duterte logged about P1bn worth of transactions using various bank accounts.
Overall Deputy Ombudsman Arthur Carandang had also said the Office of the Ombudsman possessed documents of bank transactions that showed the same thing.
This statement was what prompted Malacanang to dismiss Carandang, who was leading the probe into Duterte’s supposedly hidden wealth.
ABS-CBN has been a frequent target of Duterte’s rants, with the president accusing the network of accepting funds from him without airing his political advertisements.
To recall, Duterte said in April 2017 that he would block the renewal of ABS-CBN’s 25-year congressional franchise.
ABS-CBN’s franchise will expire on March 30, 2020. Its renewal remains pending in Congress.
In his speech during the inauguration of the Northern Mindanao Wellness and Reintegration Center in Bukidnon, Duterte hit Lopez Holdings Corp., which controls ABS-CBN, for not paying its debt to the state-run Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).
He also again brought up his grievances against the Prieto family, owners of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, which he had accused of being biased against him.
“They used to be Lopez – Lopez Group of Companies many years ago. You borrowed heavily from DBP,” he said.
“At the end, at the maturity, your debt to a government lending institution, DBP, was condoned,” he added.
Lopez Holdings Corp. earlier said it did not have unpaid obligations to the DBP or other government financial institutions after Duterte announced on August 30 that he was going after the company over supposed debts to the state-owned lender.
Duterte also claimed the Prieto family, which owns Dunkin’ Donuts in the country, has not paid P4bn in tax liabilities since the previous administration.
http://www.gulf-times.com/story/601724/Duterte-opposes-new-ABS-CBN-franchise
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