Reports have been circulating online claiming that ABS-CBN Network has only 4,401 total number of employees, contrary to what the network has claimed of 11,000.
Accordingly, the Bureau of Internal Revenue has sent a document to the Office of the Solicitor General proving that the Lopez-led company has less than half of its reported number of employees.
Based on the document sent by the Internal Revenue to SolGen Jose Calida on Friday, February 21, ABS-CBN Corp. and ABS-CBN Convergence Inc. have only 4,401 employees, far less than the 11,000 the Kapamilya network has been claiming in its efforts to renew its franchise, which ends by March 30.
Based on the Annual Information Return of Income Taxes Withheld on Compensation and Final Withholding Taxes submitted by ABS-CBN Corp. and its subsidiary ABS-CBN Convergence Inc., the media giant ABS-CBN Corp. has 4,322 employees while ABS-CBN Convergence Inc. has 79 as of December 31, 2018.
Nevertheless, ABS-CBN President and CEO Carlo Lopez Katigbak on Thursday, February 20, claimed that their company has 11,000 employees.
In his statement, he said, “My Kapamilya, I am one of the 11,000 employees of ABS-CBN and I am grateful for the opportunity to be of service.
“In the coming days, we will be given the opportunity to clarify issues about our franchise.
“We see no reason why ABS-CBN’s services should be stopped. Nevertheless, we are ready to follow the process as required by law.”
However, ABS-CBN Human Resources head Mario Carlo Nepomuceno opposed the circulating post.
During the hearing session in the Senate yesterday, February 24 which was spearheaded by Senator Grace Poe, he said that the network has a total of 11, 017 workforce.
If it will be broken down, the media company has a total of 5,918 regular employees, 1,717 project employees, 705 independent contractors, 676 content creators, and the remaining figures comprises the talents.
Also part of the workforce are the project based-employees who make up the shows of ABS-CBN.
Reports started circulating when Deputy Administrator V of Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) Mocha Uson and Thinking Pinoy shared it on their social media accounts.
While Uson is a known supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte who has previously threatened ABS-CBN that he will not let its franchise be renewed, Rey Joseph “RJ” P. Nieto, the person behind “Thinking Pinoy” blog site is a know critic who tackles a wide array of subjects and has posted fake news and misinformation multiple times already. Uson is also known as the fake news queen.
https://twitter.com/MochaUson/status/1230058803996966912
https://twitter.com/MochaUson/status/1231494555637125120
BIR: ABS-CBN HAS 4401 EMPLOYEES, NOT 11,000
In a letter to SolGen Jose Calida dated 21 February 2020, the BIR said ABS-CBN Corp. and ABS-CBN Convergence Inc. have a total of only 4,401 employees, way below the 11,000 the Kapamilya network has been claim… https://t.co/wExHsAOF0t pic.twitter.com/3bxAniRlNx
— ThinkingPinoy (@ThinkingPinoyPH) February 23, 2020
