Panelo Says Duterte’s Threats Against ABS-CBN Should Not Be Taken Literally
DUTERTE – Malacañang Palace spokesperson Salvador Panelo said President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s threats against the ABS-CBN network should not be taken literally.
Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte threatened that he is going to block the franchise renewal of the country’s biggest media network ABS-CBN. He said the tv network didn’t air his campaign ads during the 2016 election.
The 74-year-old chief executive even told the executives to just sell the company. In 2019, he vowed that he will see to it that the Kapamilya network will be “out.”
Weeks before the franchise of the tv network expires, Solicitor General Jose Calida filed a petition before the Supreme Court to cancel the existing contract of the media network. He claimed that the ABS-CBN network allowed foreign investors to control the company.
Currently, several bills seeking to renew ABS-CBN’s franchise remain pending at the House of Representatives’ Committee on Legislative Franchises.
Based on a report from Inquirer, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Duterte’s threats against the tv network are not “literal.” He clarified that the president only wants to “shut down” the media network’s alleged “fraudulent practices.”
“The President made utterances against ABS-CBN. He made certain statements like ‘I’ll shut down (ABS-CBN)’. But hindi naman literal ‘yun eh. He wants to shut down the fraudulent practices of your network,” said Panelo.
According to the report, Salvador Panelo said the president is just angry with ABS-CBN’s alleged failure to air his campaign ads and for airing Senator Antonio Trillanes’ anti-Duterte ads. The spokesperson instead that the politician’s expression of “displeasure or disgust or anger” on the network has nothing to do with the Kapamilya network’s pending bills.
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