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.

Senator Ronald Dela Rosa said that he’s not going to support the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN until the investigation is not yet done on the alleged illegal acts committed by the broadcasting company in the past.

In an interview, Dela Rosa said that the issue is not only about the 11,000 people who could lose their jobs if ABS-CBN closes down.

“What is 11,000 compared to the whole Filipino nation na matagal nang sinamantalahan ng isang kompanya kung talagang ma-prove yan sa hearing? What is 11,000 compared to the whole Filipino nation?” Dela Rosa said.

However, Dela Rosa wanted congress to probe ABS-CBN so they could clear themselves from the allegations being thrown against them.

The Senator said that he’s going to decide whether he’s going to support ABS-CBN or not based on the result of the investigation.

“E kung mabigat yung akusasyon na talagang maraming viniolate ang ABS, bakit mo pa i re-renew. Kung talagang ma-prove dun sa hearing na grabe.. sinamanlala ng husto ng ABS-CBN ang samabayanang Pilipino, bakit nyo pa i renew?” he said.

The Senator then admitted that the influence of President Rodrigo Duterte to him amid the issue of the ABS-CBN franchise is strong, saying that he’s going to “sink and swim” with him.

“Hindi ako plastic na magsabing wala akong bias. Totoong tao ako na magsabi na may bias ako towards the president,” he said.

President Duterte is a critic of ABS-CBN and he’s the one who warned the broadcasting network that their franchise is not going to be renewed.

ABS-CBN’s franchise is set to expire in March 2020, however several politicians are working to extend it even without renewing it.

Buhay Party-list Representative Lito Atienza urged his colleagues in Congress to act as soon as possible on reviewing the franchise of ABS-CBN.

House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said in a recent interview that ABS-CBN’s franchise is not a priority of the Congress and they need to discuss more important issues instead of focusing on the renewal of the broadcasting company.

However, Atienza insisted that the ABS-CBN franchise issue is an “important and urgent matter” which should not be ignored by lawmakers.

He also believes that Congress are doing delaying tactics to prevent ABS-CBN to get a franchise renewal.

“In other words, pinagpapasa pasahan ang bola, ang mangyayari diyan walang aksyon, pag walang aksyon magsasara ang ABS (CBN)… I don’t want ABS (CBN) to just close down ng hindi pinagbotohan ng kongreso,” said Atienza.

Atienza also told lawmakers that the Congress should also close down if they’re not planning to discuss the franchise of ABS-CBN.

“Kung hindi gagalaw ang Kongreso, magsara na lang tayo at wala naman tayong silbi,” the lawmaker said.

“I challenge the committee chair of legislative franchises, kung di ka magtatrabaho hindi naman pwedeng lahat kami apektabo, apektabo ang buong bansa. [To] the Speaker, if you don’t want to work, we want to work,” he added.

While Atienza is rushing to discuss the ABS-CBN franchise in the Congress, House Speaker Cayetano wants to talk about the franchise renewal of the broadcasting company when everyone is calm already.

According to Cayetano, despite not getting a franchise approval before March 2020, ABS-CBN may still operate in the next two years.

“Don’t get me wrong, napaka importante ng franchise ng ABS-CBN, hindi lang sa 11,000 empleyado, importante ito sa buong bansa, sa demokrasya natin, pero hindi ganon ka urgent, bakit? Kasi hanggang march 2022 pwedeng mag operate eh,” Cayetano said.

Cayetano explained that discussing the franchise renewal now could only drain the energy of the 18th Congress.

“Pustahan tayo, lahat ng anti, pipila makapagsalita. Lahat ng pro, pipila para magsalita. Kaya kung gusto ko mag-grandstand lang, ay papatawag na ‘ko ng hearing kaagad,” Cayetano said.

“The who’s who of the Philippines, lahat ng celebrities, basketball players, media, mag-aattend kayong lahat e. Pero is it the right timing? Tanungin niyo. Tayo ba lahat nasa right frame of mind ngayon o may mga init ng ulo pa?” he added.

“When the time comes, but definitely before March 2022. Possibly, in May, if we have enough time and we have cooler heads and with all the issues. Worst case, after SONA,” he also said.

Veteran journalist Jay Sonza is not yet done with ABS-CBN as he criticized the broadcasting network again on his new social media post.

Sonza, who’s a journalist for ABS-CBN for 12 years, claimed that the broadcasting network didn’t use their own money to help people.

“Binabatikos ang mga pulitikong epal. Ngunit, Gawain din ninyo ang sobrang drama at epal. Lahat ng pinamimigay ninyo ay galing sa taumbayan. Wala ni singkong duling ang galing sa bulsa ng may-ari o mismong kumpanya ng abs-cbn.
Pati building, sasakyan at mga lupain at ariarian ng foundation ay galing sa donors. walang inilabas na Pera ang kumpanya o network,” Sonza said.

Sonza is confident about the information he posted and claimed that he’s the one running the foundation for ten years.

“I should know we were running the foundation for ten years. 1986-96,” he said.

The journalist then asked the television network not to ask sympathy to the public amid their possible closure because of the franchise issue.

It’s not yet known if Sonza is referring to the ABS-CBN foundation which is founded in 1989 or another organization affiliated to the broadcasting network.

The post already reached 2,700 reactions on social media and 1,000 shares as of writing.

After the government filed a quo warranto petition against ABS-CBN, supporters of the broadcasting network brought up the goods things did by the company to other people.

Recently, a news report about Yolanda survivors supporting the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN has been published on social media.

Actor Robin Padilla responded to the tweets of ABS-CBN production executive Ethel Manaloto-Espiritu and also revealed something about one of his former bosses in the said broadcasting company.

On February 14, Espiritu questioned the timing of Padilla’s criticisms against ABS-CBN and asked him why he didn’t fight for the rights of the employees of the broadcasting company in the past.

As a response, Padilla told Espiritu that he already talked about the complaints of the employees in 2018 during the time he’s working in ABS-CBN as a main cast of television show “Sana Dalawa ang Puso”.

Padilla recounted that he talked to former Environment Secretary Gina Lopez, who’s also the daughter of ABS-CBN Chairman Emeritus Eugenio López, Jr. about the complaints and wishes of the non-regular employees of the television network giant.

“Sa lahat ng mas nakakakilala sa akin sa buong showbiz world lalo sa mga taga abs cbn batid nila ang aking pagtulong sa mga empleado nito lalo sa pangbili ng gamot, utang na hindi mabayaran, papaopera ng anak na may butas sa puso etc etc Mam ethel pakitanong mo sa set ng sana dalawa ang puso kung sino ang kausap ko sa tent patungkol sa working conditions ng non regular employees ng abscbn walang iba kundi si mam Gina Lopez mahigit isang oras kami nag usap pati ang patungkol sa housing ng mga non regular employees,” Padilla said.

The actor then mentioned another executive producer Rocky Ubana who’s a former boss of Padilla in his sitcom “Todamax” and revealed something surprising about the latter.

Padilla asked Ubana if the higher-ups of ABS-CBN are aware that he’s a subcontractor of tent.

He also criticized Ubana for his questionable labor practices as a subcontractor.

“At sayo mam rocky ubana batid ba ng mga boss mo sa abscbn na ikaw mismo sa panahon ko ay sub contractor ng tent? Magkano ang sueldo mo sa tao? Minimum ba? May overtime ba? Registrado ba yun agency mo? Alam ba ng Dole na may mga laborer ka na nagpupuyat at walang working hours? Ano ang mga benepisyo?” Padilla asked.

“Ang dahilan kung bakit ngayon ito dapat pag usapan dahil magrenew ng franchise ang abscbn ito ang tamang oras para magpakumbaba ang management sa kaniyang mga trabahador at makinig sa hinaing ng mga tao sa ground,” he added.

Padilla then thanked the ABS-CBN executives for providing a job for his relatives, however, he insisted that he’s different from them.

In the end, the actor urged the ABS-CBN executives to face the franchise and labor issues and avoid putting drama on it.

“Ang issue dito ay franchise at labor yun ang harapin natin wag natin daanin sa drama i already apologized pero kung gusto niyo pa walang problema sa akin we can run the whole marathon,” Padilla said.

Source [1]

A veteran journalist explained why the quo warranto petition filed by the Office of the Solicitor General against ABS-CBN is a surprising move that may be caught the television network giant off guard.

Jay Sonza claimed that while the executives of ABS-CBN are already prepared for other ways so they could still operate even after their franchise expires in March 2020, they didn’t expect to face a quo warranto petition from the government.

According to Sonza, one of the possible moves by ABS-CBN is to get a temporary license to operate to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) so they could still operate while the congress is still not discussing their franchise renewal.

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano also recently suggested to the House Franchise panel to submit to the NTC a document supporting the temporary license for ABS-CBN.

However, if the quo warranto petition granted, there’s a possibility that the Supreme Court orders ABS-CBN to close down even with the temporary license.

“Hindi b*** ang abs-cbn, lalo na ang mga Lopez
Alam nilang aabutan ng expiry ang kanilang prangkisa.
Alam nilang hindi lulusot ito sa Kongreso at sa pangulo.
Pero, hindi sila nababahala kung iyong lang ang problema.
Mas madaling ayusin ang NTC para sa kanilang provisional permit to operate. Malawak ang kanilang karanasan dito or so they thought. Sanay sa gapangan at patraydor na lakaran ang mga Lopez,” Sonza who’s a former journalist working for ABS-CBN said.

“Subalit, ngunit, dadapuwat iba ang Quo Warranto petition ng Office of the Solicitor General. At dito sila NAGULANTANG. dito nangatal ang kanilang mga labi, nanginig ang tuhod at umakyat ang b*y*g ni Gabby sa may lalamunan, sampu ng kanyang mga kapamilya.”

“First of its kind ito against them. Wala silang template kung paano ang gagawing diskarte o aayusin kahit pailalim.”

“Ang mga kalaban ay ubod ng bigat. Hindi pa natatalo kahit minsan, at nitong huli, mismong Chief Justice ang pinatanggal sa puwesto sa pamamagitan ng makapanindig balahibong QUO WARRANTO.”

Sonza said that if the Supreme Court favors the quo warranto petition, the ABS-CBN could face more problems aside from being forced to close down.

“They will be facing mounting law suits for fiscal recoveries, multiple estafa cases which are non-bailable. Underground financial gods and demigods are not gentle on those who they feel double crossed them,”

“Sa madaling salita, nasa bingit sila ng kumunoy! and they only have themselves to blame. Why? Because they chose to employ the mouth of hell, instead of singing Lullaby for Rody,”

The post of Sonza as of writing already reached 3,800 shares and 9,300 reactions.