House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said that he is ‘willing’ to ask some members of the lower chamber to help artists, employees, and talents of ABS-CBN should they wish to form a cooperative.
“I’m willing to assign people in Congress and ask some chairmen to help kung interesado talaga mga artista at empleyado ng ABS-CBN,” Cayetano said in a press conference in Taguig City.
“Pero naiintindihan kong hindi ito pwedeng pag-usapan in public kasi ‘pag sinabi nilang they support, para nilang iniiwan ‘yung network. Kapag sinabi namang hindi, para namang it’s about the Lopezes, it’s not about ‘yung trabaho ng mga tao,” he added.
Cayetano’s statement follows the earlier suggestion of Anakalusugan Rep. Mike Defensor that ABS-CBN employees take over the management of the network on their own after its franchise application was denied by the House committee on legislative franchises.
“Sa aking palagay, kung sila ay magkakaisa at ipepetisyon ang government, tutulungan ko sila but it should not be the ABS-CBN Corporation dahil yun yung natapos na yung prangkisa,” Defensor said.
Cayetano was one of the lawmakers who vouched for the denial of ABS-CBN franchise renewal. He claimed that ABS-CBN took sides during the election and gave “unfair airtime” to other candidates.
The House Speaker is pertaining to how the ABS-CBN network allegedly refused to air election coverage for some of the candidates in 2016.
Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte also suggested that the Lopez family sell the corporation, saying that it would save the employees from job loss or risk remaining shut even after the Duterte administration.
Cayetano said that journalists will be more independent with their reporting if they are working as a cooperative instead of being dictated upon a traditional family-owned corporation.
“Kung yung mga broadcasters sila mismo may-ari at walang magdidikta sa kanila kung sino kakampihan sa eleksyon, wala silang problema sa tax, walang problema,” he said.
He said that there are other companies working as a cooperative and they do not have problems with their taxes, unlike ABS-CBN who faced issues with insufficient paying of taxes.
“Let me give you an example: DZMM. Oh kung ‘yung mga broadcasters sila mismo ang mga may-ari at walang magdidikta sa kanila kung sino ang kakampihan sa eleksyon, walang problema sila sa tax—walang problema,” Cayetano said.
“We pass broadcast franchises every month or every other month sa Congress, walang nagiging problema ito basta nga yung mga problemang nakita doon sa ABS-CBN ay hindi present,” he added.
Cayetano said that there is a difficulty in shooting TV shows and movies today because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said that advertisers would rather spend money on aid rather than on commercials, so there is less opportunity for artists.
“So kung matutuloy man ‘yan, ‘yung suggestion nga ng marami pati ni Chairperson Mike Defensor, I think it should be done quietly at isaalang-alang natin sila. May mga sumasakay kasi gustong gawing political issue eh,” the House Speaker said.
“It’s a very complex issue, but it’s emotional because you have real people who are facing real problems at this point in time. But we’re willing to be part of the solution on the consequences of our actions,” he added.
Cayetano recognizes the country’s talented artists who have already been recognized worldwide but are not getting enough support from the government that’s why he said that he would like to focus on the development and promotion of the Department of Arts and culture.
He wants to establish a separate department that will focus on the development, marketing, and promotion of Philippine arts and culture abroad.
“May mga mawawalan ng trabaho sa ABS-CBN, pero walang dahilan na hindi magkaroon ng golden age of Philippine cinema and of Philippine performing arts,” he said.
While some people showed their support for Cayetano’s plans to help the ABS-CBN network, some also criticized him saying that he was being ‘plastic’ with his words and just trying to look good to the public.
https://twitter.com/frebelyahoocom1/status/1285565885529288704
It’s really sad that they are that heartless. Ang kapakanan nila ang priority nila, Hindi ang taong bayan. So Selfish.
— frebel@yahoo.com (@frebelyahoocom1) July 21, 2020
https://twitter.com/rgapas_/status/1285434504979480577
This all about Alan Peter Cayetano the corrupt butterfly of all time Everything he does all 2 promote his n that of his family's selfish interest Yung mga Taguig will say he delivers naman Pero paano kaming ibang mga Filipino ginagawa nyang gago para lamang matupad yung pangarap! https://t.co/oFd5xTfkLj
— Jimmy Perez (@jmy_perez) July 21, 2020
https://twitter.com/joketerte30/status/1285194930491539462
https://twitter.com/ragde2260/status/1285239701599776768
https://twitter.com/m_adelie/status/1285212728479498240
Nope, sorry but you can’t undo the damage, the hurt the despicable things you’ve all done. We will all remember what you did. No apologies will be accepted. You won’t have future in politics anymore.
— chris (@newyorker_ako) July 20, 2020
This is a strategy to prevent the ABS CBN employees from staying united with their goal to bring back the network. Clearly Cayetano extending your hand to help with the intention to further bring down the Lopez's, your not fooling anyone. What a wolf in sheep's clothing.
— Vlaine (@Vlaine9) July 20, 2020
Oh my gosh! They’re so nice! They’re willing to do everything to give back jobs to those who lost them. If only they weren’t the reason for those lost jobs in the first place.
— Ron (@ronp506) July 20, 2020
He also noted that the Philippines has its advantages in the field because it is an English-speaking country and the quality of the entertainment that the Filipinos offer shows its capability in adapting. But he said that despite these advantages of Filipino artists and performers, the country’s culture and arts remain unrecognized by many.
“Kung titingnan mo ‘yong fine arts, at kung titingnan mo ang design, at titingnan mo halimbawa ang mga sculptors at painters ngayon during the pandemic, imbes na bumaba, tumaas ang presyo. And even right before the pandemic, ‘yung mga nage-exhibit sa Europe, sa Singapore, sa China, sa Hong Kong, grabe ang suporta,” Cayetano said.
“So, sa akin, ang sining whether it’s for advertising, whether it’s for movies, it’s for telenovelas, whether it’s for marketing ng mga projects, whether it’s OPM as an album or a jingle ng isang produkto, very creative tayo doon. I don’t think we should lose our advantage there, or whatever we lost, I think we should gain it back,” he added.
Cayetano emphasized the need to develop a comprehensive plan to promote Filipino talents globally and he hopes to collaborate with the stakeholders in the culture and arts sector as well as the entire creative industry to craft a plan that will help their sector harness new markets and opportunities locally and globally.
