Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo explained the side of the government to journalist Karen Davila on the issue of the ABS-CBN franchise.

In an interview with ANC Headstart, Panelo insisted that President Rodrigo Duterte is not controlling or pressuring the other branches of the government to block the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN, which initially set to expire by the end of March 2020.

According to Panelo, Duterte is only expressing his frustrations against ABS-CBN when they didn’t air the commercial he paid last presidential election, but it doesn’t mean that he’s already controlling the Congress to block it.

He also said that only the Congress could decide if they’re going to renew the franchise of ABS-CBN and not the President.

“The President made utterances against ABS-CBN, he made certain statement like ‘I’ll shut it down’ pero hindi naman literal ‘yun eh, he wants to shut down the fraudulent practices of your network,” Panelo told Davila.

“Yun ang kinagagalit ni Presidente, yung mga ganoong klaseng practices kaya siya nagalit, you cannot deprived this man to express his displeasure or disgust or anger when he was a victim of fraud, pero walang kinalaman ‘yun sa pag renew because that is the job of the Congress,” he added.

The Presidential Spokesperson also said that even if Duterte tries to veto the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN, Congress has still the power to override the decision of the President.

“Ano naman kung i-veto? They can override the veto of the President,” the President said.

When Davila asked if the Congress is violating any law because they’re not doing their job in tackling the ABS-CBN franchise, Panelo said that only the courts could decide that.

On the quo warranto filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida, Panelo explained that the said petition is not ordered by the President.

Panelo claimed that Calida is moving independently and he sees nothing wrong with filing the quo warranto because it will not affect the franchise of ABS-CBN.

“Ano naman kung granted (yung quo warranto) edi ganon parin, may pending application ka naman, kasi kung mayroon kang violation ay doon ka lang mananagot sa batas sa violation mo pero after that pwede ka namang mag apply, still the Congress would decide,” Panelo explained.

Panelo also complained about how ABS-CBN seems trying to blame Duterte to their franchise issue and also aligning their issues with press freedom.

However, Davila argued that the franchise of ABS-CBN “could lead” to a press freedom issue.

“Ang nakakayamot Karen, pinapasok nila yung freedom of the press, walang connection eh, ipagpalagay na nating nawala ang ABS CBN, are you telling me na nawala na yung freedom of expression and of the press? Of course not, ang dami daming networks, ang daming radyo nandyan parin, and ABS-CBN can always, alam mo na madali lang naman gawan ng paraan yan, ibenta mo lang tapos ikaw rin pala ang may hawak, ewan ko ba parang natatawa na ko,” he said.

When Davila tried to insist that the issue of ABS-CBN is also about freedom of the press, Panelo asked the journalist how she would prove that.

However, Davila refused to answer to Panelo’s question.

“I’m not gonna tell you, I’m going to ask you that’s my job on the show to ask you,” she told Panelo.

She then asked Panelo why President Duterte didn’t stop the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to file a quo warranto petition against ABS-CBN if he doesn’t really want to interfere with the Congress.

As a response, Panelo said that it’s the job of the OSG to file a case against alleged violators of the constitution.

Davila then brought up the press freedom issue again and asked Panelo if an editorial judgment is a violation of the franchise renewal.

To answer the question of Davila, Panelo said that editorial judgment is not a violation of the franchise renewal so the ABS-CBN issue cannot be linked to press freedom.

“Bakit, hindi naman iyon yung ground for quo warranto ah, so edi walang koneksyon, the very connection of the quo warranto does not even touch your right to criticize, your right to write editorials so anong koneksyon non sa freedom of express or of the press? Edi wala,” Panelo said.

Davila mentioned a statement from some experts, saying that the franchise issue could lead to the editorial independence of any given networks.

However, Panelo argued that only Congress could decide about the franchise issue of ABS-CBN and not the President.

“Eh sino nga ang nag bibigay ng franchise o nag re-renew edi Congress, bakit mo sinisisi ang Presidente, wala ngang kinalaman ang Presidente doon, tanungin mo kung bakit galit si Presidente, sasagutin kita,” Panelo told Davila.

Panelo also has a message to the management of ABS-CBN.

“Ang problema kasi sa inyo, hindi yung mga bagong executives ngayon, kakaawa nga dahil ang gagaling, mga bata, matitino, now they’re suffering because of what their father’s did, or yung mga uncle nila… Alam na nila na mali yung ginawa nila, and yet did they do anything to appease the person naging biktima ng kanilang injustice and fraud? Wala,” Panelo said.

He then praised ABS-CBN CEO Carlo Katigbak for admitting the faults of his own company.

The former news director of ABS-CBN claimed that his ex network established a foundation to get kickbacks from its donors.

In a radio interview with the host of ‘Tambayan sa DWIZ’, veteran journalist Jay Sonza recounted how his former broadcasting company formed a foundation after they saw how many people donated on them when they published a story about a person with an abnormal condition.

“Sa totoo lang, walang kahit isang perang lumalabas sa ABS eh. Ang mga itinutulong galing din sa ating lahat na mga donors eh. Bakit ko alam ito? Ganito nagsimula ang foundation, wala naman talagang foundation ang ABS eh. ‘Yung ni-launch namin ang TV Patrol, noon 1989, tatlong programa ang pinagsama namin, news, buhay artista at public service. Nagsimula sa lingkod bayan iyan,” Sonza said.

“Sabi ni Mel (Tiangco), ‘tulungan natin’. Eh di nanawagan. Ang daming nagdonate. Imbes na ang kailangan ay P1,800, ang pumasok na pera ay otsenta mil… Noong dumami ang pera, naisip ng management na gawin ng foundation. Kasi milyones na ang pera,” he added.

According to Sonza, the foundation that ABS-CBN established became successful.

When the Luzon quake happened, the network raised billions of pesos from its subscribers who wanted to help the victims of the calamity.

However, Sonza criticized the move of ABS-CBN after the management allegedly used the money of the foundation the construct additional buildings for the company.

“Kaya noong umalis kami ng ABS, ang pera ng ABS foundation ay bilyones. Puro donation iyan… Pagkatapos nagpatayo sila ng building sa kanto ng Scout Albano at ng Mother Ignacia. Doon ako umangal. Sabi ko ‘Bakit kailangan galing sa foundation?’. Kung kami nga kumukha ng gamot galing sa lingkod bayan ay binabayaran pa namin,” the journalist revealed.

Aside from constructing a building, Sonza also claimed that the broadcasting network used the foundation money to buy vehicles.

According to Sonza, he also wanted the government to investigate the ABS-CBN foundation for their alleged illegal activities or if the network is not hiding something, just reveal their accounting books to the public.

“Kung walang tinatago ang ABS, ilabas nila yung libro, kung ilan yung natanggap nila sa Yolanda, ilan yung tinanggap nila kay Flor Contemplacion, ilang yung natanggap nila sa Mount Pinatubo, kung paano nila ginastos,” he said.

ABS-CBN foundation was originally established in 1989 and known for its three flagship programs: Bantay Bata 163, Sagip Kapamilya and Bantay Kalikasan.

Malacanang Palace downplayed the statements of MOR 101.9 disc jockey Czarina Balba known in her screen name as “DJ Chacha” urging Senator Ronald Dela Rosa to resign after announcing his everlasting loyalty to President Rodrigo Duterte.

During a press conference in Malacanang, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo has been asked about their comments on the criticisms of Balba against Dela Rosa.

As a response, Panelo said that Balba might be the one who wanted to be a bodyguard of President Rodrigo Duterte and just using Dela Rosa to hide her true intentions.

“Baka naman siya ang gustong mag-apply. Hayaan mo nalang siya,” Panelo said.

The DJ suggested several days ago that Dela Rosa should just work for President Duterte as a bodyguard instead of working as a senator.

“I suggest mag-resign na dapat si Senator Bato sa pagiging senador at mag-apply na Bodyguard ng Presidente tutal naman ang loyalty niya ay sa Pangulo at hindi sa taong bayan,” she said.

I suggest mag-resign na dapat si Senator Bato sa pagiging senador at mag-apply na Bodyguard ng Presidente tutal naman ang loyalty niya ay sa Pangulo at hindi sa taong bayan.

— DJ Chacha (@mor1019chacha) February 18, 2020

Balba catches the attention of Dela Rosa on Wednesday after the latter rejected the DJ’s call for his resignation.

“Mali ba ang maging loyal sa isang (Is it wrong to be loyal to a) duly elected President who is after the welfare of his people and who is willing to confront the oligarchs who have been bastardizing this country for so long ?” Dela Rosa said.

“Sabihan mo si DJ Chacha baka ang alam lang nya ay magchacha, ilang beses kong sinugal ang buhay ko para sa inang bayan just to let her know,” he also said.

In another interview, he also asked who Balba was to order him to leave the Senate.

“Sino ba siya? I was voted upon 19 million Filipinos at siya hindi niya ako ibinoto at yung binoto niya yung mga natalo tapos ngayon pag resign-in niya ko? Who you?” Dela Rosa said.

House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, on Tuesday, scored Senate committee on public services chairperson Grace Poe for pushing for the “unconstitutional” hearing of the Senate on the ABS-CBN franchise.

In an interview with the media, Cayetano said that Poe and other Senators are violating the constitution, explaining that the franchise of ABS-CBN should be heard first in the House of Representatives before the Senate.

“Ano ba sabi sa Constitution? Saan ba mag-uumpisa ang prangkisa? Sa House o sa Senate?” said Cayetano.

Cayetano said that he agreed with Senate President Vicente Sotto III’s statement that a hearing in the senate is useless if ever that the Congress decided to reject the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN.

“Sangayon ako dun kay Senate President Sotto nung sinabi niyang, ‘Anong ihi-hear mo?’ Kasi ‘pag dineny namin, wala siyang ihi-hear. Kapag in-approve namin, e ‘di may records na siya ng lahat ng nagsabing gusto at hindi, at 300 mahigit ang kongresista,” he said.

He also asked why the senators don’t want to talk about constitutional reforms in the Philippines, but rushing to discuss the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN.

“Nagtataka lang ako kay Senator Grace Poe at sa mga senador, kapag chacha ang pinagusapan ayaw nila, wag daw muna pag usapan, pero they feel free to violate the constitution,” he said.

Reports said that the senate hearing on ABS-CBN franchise is going to start next week.

Cayetano then explained that while the 11,000 jobs produced by ABS-CBN are important, the House Speaker pointed out that there are more important bills that should take care of by the Senate.

“Importante ba ang trabaho ng 11,000 employees ng ABSCBN? Oo naman. But is it more important than the hundreds of thousands of jobs that would be generated if the Senate acted quickly on the CITIRA law that Congress has already forwarded to them?” said Cayetano.

He then repeated that Congress should talk about the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN when everyone is already calm.

Cayetano said that they eyeing to discuss the ABS-CBN franchise in May or after the State of the Nation Address of President Rodrigo Duterte this year.

“I’m hoping talaga na May, but latest talaga is right after SONA (or) first week of August, depende sa sitwasyon natin sa May,” he said.

The suspect who caused a street vendor to hospitalize is now in the custody of the Manila Police District (MPD) and already presented to Mayor Isko Moreno.

Alexander Ogdamina, the suspect, was presented to Moreno and also to the family of the victim Samsom Bautista.

It can be seen that Moreno was visibly irked when he talked to the suspect.

“Ipalo ko sayo to eh, batugan, naghahanap buhay yung tao eh,” Moreno who’s holding a solid object told Ogdamina.

In the Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, it showed Bautista parking his food cart at the Baseco Compound when Ogdamina approached the victim.

The suspect tried to grab the bag of Bautista, however, the latter resisted which prompted Ogdamina to use force.

Bautista is now currently in the ICU of Gat Andres Bonifacio Medical Center.

When the media asked Ogdamina about his message to the public, he said that they should just give their money if they encountered people like him.

 “Baka kasi akala nila, nagbibiro kami e. Kapag sinabi namin, ginagawa talaga namin. Kaunting halaga lang naman yan kung tutuusin e. Di na kailangan mawalan pa ng buhay.” Ogdamina said.

Ogdamina also admitted that he already used all the money he got from Bautista. He also revealed that he’s a shabu user.

He also apologized to the Bautista family, saying that he doesn’t really want to hurt his victims.

Meanwhile, Mayor Moreno urged the family of the victim to pursue filing charges against Ogdamina and avoid settling it.

He also thanked MPD for a job well done in searching for Ogdamina’s whereabouts.

The Manila City Government is also willing to shoulder the hospitalization of Bautista.

“Ang tao hindi mo mapipigilan na mag isip ng masama sa kapwa niya, pero kapag ginawa ninyo yun sa Maynila ay papanagutin namin kayo,” said Moreno.

Veteran journalist Jay Sonza revealed a surprising claim about his former network ABS-CBN amid the franchise issue being faced by the said broadcasting company.

In an interview with ‘Tambayan sa DWIZ’ Sonza said that ABS-CBN has the ability to control the opinion of the public as he mentioned the case of former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada who was ousted in the second EDSA revolution in 2001.

According to Sonza, a holding firm that is controlled by the Lopez Group wanted to get foreign funding for the modernization and expansion of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) that’s why they asked former President Estrada to sign a sovereign guarantee.

The sovereign guarantee is an assurance that the government is going to shoulder the debt of the lender if they cannot pay back the money they borrowed anymore.

Sonza claimed that Erap didn’t sign the sovereign guarantee, that’s why the Lopez group started to launch a campaign against the former President.

“Kailangan nila ng foreign funding para sa maintenance, expansion at modernization… eh hindi sila makakuha ng funding ng walang sovereign guarantee, so pinipilit nila ngayong pumirma si Erap ng sovereign guarantee,” Sonza said.

“Edi inumpisahan nila si Erap hanggang matangal,” he added.

The CEO of ABS-CBN even ordered not to stop the campaign against Estrada until he’s not getting crushed.

“Ang instruction lang ni Gabby (Lopez) ‘ wag niyong tatantanan hangga’t hindi ninyo napupulbos (si Erap)’” he said.

The veteran journalist recounted that he tried to expose the said issue in public, however, some lawmakers during that time didn’t give him a chance to speak about it.

Sonza also said that he witnessed how some politicians received a bribe from ABS-CBN representatives.

He claimed that when he started mentioning names, the lawmakers didn’t continue their investigation anymore as some of them are included in the list.

From 1986-1996, Sonza worked as a journalist in ABS-CBN.