- Sen. Go questioned ABS-CBN for airing negative ad vs Duterte.
- Go said Duterte was maligned by the negative ad paid for by Sen. Trillanes.
- GMA Network also aired similar negative ad.
Senator Bong Go on Monday, February 24, brought out President Rodrigo Duterte’s gripes against ABS-CBN during the Senate hearing on the latter’s franchise renewal
Go questioned ABS-CBN’s decision to air the controversial political ad paid for by former Sen. Antonio Trillanes in 2016.
According to Go, the President felt humiliated by the ad as it featured children questioning Duterte’s manner of speech and his unorthodox ways during the campaign.
“Nasaktan ang presidente, nababoy ang presidente…
“Paano ito naging political ad? Ano ba ang priority ninyo? Black propaganda?” asked Go.
“Ang isyu dito, bakit binigyan ng priority ‘yung black propaganda? Hindi naman po political ads ‘yung black propaganda. Paninira po ‘yun sa isang kandidato, then-Mayor Duterte, siraan siya para bumaba ‘yung kanyang rating that time…Hindi mababaw ‘yung dahilan, dahil crucial po ‘yung panahon na ‘yun at eleksyon ang pinaguusapan dito at iisa lang po ang mananalo,” he said.
Go further said that while Duterte is not vindictive in nature, he felt the ad went overboard.
“Hindi mababaw ang rason ng Pangulo sa kanyang grievances against the network. Nasaktan at nababoy ang Presidente. Hindi vindictive ang Pangulo. But it’s clear someone went overboard with the airing of this black propaganda,” said Go
“Sabi ko nga, kung mabuti kayong tao sa kanya, mas mabuti po siya sa inyo. Kung mas masama ka, mas magiging masama siya sa inyo,” he added.
Duterte’s former aide also scored ABS-CBN for allegedly being partial to other candidates.
“This is very troublesome. Media networks are supposed to be impartial… Kung nagawa ito sa isang kandidato sa pagka-presidente, paano pa sa isang ordinaryong mamamayan, ordinaryong Pilipino lamang?” he said during his opening statement.
“Kung ganito na maaaring magsama-sama ang mga partido para pabagsakin ang isang tao… Tama po ang pangulo na labanan ang mga elistista at oligarkiya na naghahari sa ating bansa,” Go continued.
GMA Network also aired negative ad against Duterte?
Meanwhile, during the hearing, Sen. Grace Poe was able to establish that it was not only ABS-CBN who aired the negative ads.
“Hindi lang isang network ang nag-air nito. Ang kaibahan lang, mas mabilis na nag-pull out iyong isa sa airing,” said Poe.
GMA Network’s VP for Legal Affairs Atty. Luz Delfin said under oath that indeed the negative ad was also aired on their network, it was just pulled immediately after a TRO was filed by Duterte’s running mate Alan Cayetano.
“It was a call, I think, of our marketing department not to air it anymore,” she said.
However, hours after the hearing, Delfin retracted her statement saying she was referring to a different political ad.
Statement of GMA First VP for Legal Affairs Atty. Ma. Luz Delfin
I wish to clarify my statement during the Senate Hearing on the ABS-CBN Franchise Renewal held earlier today, February 24, 2020. pic.twitter.com/tMHld0Ouit
— Kapuso PR Girl (@kapusoPRgirl) February 24, 2020
“I wish to clarify my statement during the Senate Hearing on the ABS-CBN Franchise Renewal held earlier today, February 24, 2020.
“The political advertisement against then presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte featuring minors, which was discussed during the Senate Hearing, was not aired on GMA after it was disapproved by the Network’s internal election committee.
“I was instead referring to another political advertisement, which was aired on GMA,” said Delfin in a retraction statement.
Former Sen. Trillanes also confirmed Delfin’s statement saying the ad which was aired by GMA Network was a different version but with the same messaging.
“Tama kamo ung statement, the pol ad aired in GMA is different. But it is still a negative ad and actually more hard hitting than the ad with minors,” said Trillanes camp.
ABS-CBN President and CEO apoligized
Meanwhile, after Go’s revelation that the real root of ABS-CBN’s franchise problem is President Duterte’s personal issues, ABS-CBN President and CEO Carlo L. Katigbak made a statement saying sorry if their decision to air the ad has somehow offended the President.
Katigbak clarified that they are only following the law when they give green light to the particular political ad and that they have no intention of pushing their own political agenda.
“We were sorry if we offended the President. That was not the intention of the network. We felt that we were just abiding by the laws and regulations that surround the airing of political ads,” said Katigbak.
“Let me make a categorical statement that ABS has not and will not have its own political agenda,” he added.
