- President Rodrigo Duterte expressed his opinion against ABS-CBN.
- He said that if he had his way, he will not renew the network’s contract.
- ABS-CBN’s franchise will expire in 2020 and their request for extension is still pending.
President Rodrigo Duterte does not exactly sing hosannahs where ABS-CBN is the subject.
The President has accused the network of duping him. He claimed that the network failed to air his advertisements during the campaign for the 2016 elections, despite having paid them.
The network’s franchise will expire in 2020 and the House Bill 4349 which proposes to extend the network’s franchise by another 25 years is still pending in the House Committee on Legislative Franchises.
“Now, ABS-CBN, their franchise is due for renewal… But I will never also intervene. But if I had my way, I will not give it back to you,” Duterte announced.
The owners of the Kapamilya network, the Lopez family, sent envoys to his office to negotiate, but Duterte’s mind is already set when it comes to further negotiations with the network.
In early 2017, President Duterte expressed his unfavorable opinion against ABS-CBN when he renewed the franchise of rival network GMA on the same year.
The President also took a swipe at the local newspaper The Philippine Daily Inquirer calling their news as unfair and slanted when it comes to his administration. He described both media entities as “corrupt and ails the Philippines as a whole.” (Story Sources: Philstar and Manila Standard)
