- The senator was heavily criticized for belittling the welfare of ABS-CBN employees
- The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) asked the Supreme Court to issue a gag order against ABS-CBN
Several ABS-CBN celebrities reacted to Senator Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa’s statements regarding ABS-CBN’s franchise which is scheduled to expire next month.
According to Dela Rosa, the welfare of the entire Filipino nation should be prioritized over the 11,000 employees of ABS-CBN if ever the allegations against the network are proven to be true. However, he added that he will critically look at the evidence presented against the network before making up his mind about it.
“What is 11,000 compared to the whole Filipino nation na matagal nang sinamantalahan ng isang kumpanya? Kung talagang ma-prove iyan sa hearing, na pinagsamantalahan ang sambayanang Pilipino?” Dela Rosa stated.
The senator also attested his support for President Rodrigo Duterte amid the network’s franchise renewal issue. “As I said, I will live and die with President Duterte. I will sink and swim with him.”
After airing these statements, the senator gained criticisms from the netizens as well as from TV personalities.
Angel Locsin indicated her opposition to this by sharing a photo showing a tri-colored ribbon and the ABS-CBN building on Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8vHQaOlJOi/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Angel jokingly said in the caption, “Ding! ang bato! with the words #chos,#Nohate #Justlove.” This was in reference to a well-known line from Darna.
Actress and singer Agot Isidro aired her complaint against the senator who is biased against his own countrymen.
https://twitter.com/agot_isidro/status/1229732290332221440?s=19
“Sir, allegiance to country first! Dapat di kayo nag-senador kung biased kayo. Nakakapanlumo. Paano na, Pilipinas. Tayo-tayo lang ito.”
Carmela Brosas, more popularly known as K Brosas, rewrote the chorus of the song “Pusong Bato” with digs at Dela Rosa.
https://twitter.com/kbrosas/status/1230004897111691265?s=19
“Sing along time..
Dimo alam dahil dito
Daming di makakain
Di rin makakatulog
Dahil gusto mong saraduhin
Kung ako’y muling boboto
Sana’y di maging katulad mo..
Tulad mo na May pusong… BATO!” K Brosas wrote.
Zsa Zsa Padilla also spoke of her concern for the respective families of each ABS-CBN employee should they lose their jobs.
https://twitter.com/zsazsapadilla/status/1229979628292329478?s=19
“Paano naman po ang pamilya ng bawa’t isa sa 11,000? Kay dami pong sinusuportahan, pinapaaral, tinutulungan ng 11,000. May maipapalit po bang hanap buhay para sa lahat? Parang hindi naman ganun kadali humanap ng trabaho para sa lahat ng mawawalan ng hanap buhay. Nakakalungkot,” she wrote.
https://twitter.com/zsazsapadilla/status/1229981890737659904?s=19
“Sa tutoo lang, naiiyak ako sa mga naririnig kong salita. Bakit naman ganyan? Napakasakit naman. Hindi biro na mawalan ng hanap buhay. Hindi mo dapat ito gustuhin para sa kapwa mo at sabihin na ikabubuti ito ng pangkalahatan. May maibibigay bang kapalit na trabaho? Paano na?” Padila added.
Meanwhile, journalist and radio broadcaster Karen Davila reacted to Dela Rosa’s statements on Twitter with the words,” I cannot”.
I cannot…. https://t.co/sxqbW1NBrs
— Karen Davila (@iamkarendavila) February 18, 2020
Radio jockey DJ Chacha suggested that the senator resign and apply as Duterte’s bodyguard instead.
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 (@_djchacha) February 18, 2020
“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 wrote on her Twitter account.
On February 18, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) asked the Supreme Court to issue a gag order prohibiting ABS-CBN and persons acting on their behalf from releasing statements on the merits of his quo warranto petition against the Kapamilya network’s existing franchise..
According to OSG, ABS-CBN violated some provisions on its franchise after offering paid broadcast on KBO (Kapamilya Box Office) without permission from the government and secondly, agreeing to the foreign ownership of the broadcasting company.
However, in an official statement, ABS-CBN stated that these allegations were not true.
