The seemingly attack against the Kapamilya network continues with yet another issue.
On Monday’s briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque presented an unverified list of supposed ABS-CBN dues. According to Roque, the amount that the network owes the government reached P999 million.
Netizens could not believe this as Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Development Bank of the Philippines’ (DBP) had cleared the Network from alleged infractions during last year’s Senate hearing on the network franchise renewal.
With Roque’s unofficial list, netizens question if the Secretary is trying, again, to expose ABS-CBN.
Netizen @heyitschal, who, like most Filipinos, were used to the administration presenting unverified matrixes. Now, netizens are also asking the president to provide his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Assets (SALN), which the president is not required to do.
https://twitter.com/heyitschal/status/1361197621335891969?s=20
@xianespartero asked “tell me you have an intellectual disability without telling me you have an intellectual disability”.
Tell me you have an intellectual disability without telling me you have an intellectual disability: https://t.co/VhIfrLphtp
— XIAN Ꮚ˘ ꈊ ˘ Ꮚ (@xianespartero) February 15, 2021
Former ABS-CBN employee Jon Montesa expressed his concern regarding CNN’s news delivery. According to Montesa, if a matrix is not official, like what Roque presented, the news organization should not have paid attention to it.
Sana 'yung mga ganitong hindi naman verified, hindi na sini-share @cnnphilippines 🙂 https://t.co/IzPqGJNvFQ
— Jon Montesa (@iMelAljon) February 15, 2021
@jpvaldez_2020 on the other hand focused on how Roque would be able to use his unofficial matrix in court.
Pag yan di totoo, tignan kung maipagtatanggol mo ito sa korte. Humanda ka sa mga asunto Spox Roque. https://t.co/MHi3J43a4F
— John Paulo Valdez (@jpvaldez_2020) February 15, 2021
During last year’s ABS-CBN’s franchise hearing, BIR Asst. Commissioner Manuel Mapoy has testified in Congress that the media giant has no tax deficiencies.
“ABS-CBN Corporation ay (is) regularly paying taxes for the past years. Na-check naman po na ‘yung dapat nilang i-withhold at na-remit naman nila sa gobyerno (The amount that it needed to withhold had been checked and it was remitted to the government),” BIR Asst. Commissioner Manuel Mapoy said.
DBP on the other hand has made their executives attest that ABS-CBN has no liability with the bank.
“These NPLs and NPAs were dealt with in the regular course of business and disposed of by DBP pursuant to Republic Act No. 9182, entitled The Special Purpose Vehicles Act of 2002, as amended by RA No. 9343 and other applicable laws, which authorized financial institutions, like DBP to transfer NPLs and NPAs to SPVs (special purpose vehicles) created under the Act,” DBP President Herbosa said.
“It was audited by the Commission on Audit and in the annual audit report, there was no finding of irregularity,” pointed by DBP Senior Vice President Soraya Adiong.
And with that, netizen @SyLicoNgaAko stressed that the alleged debt owned by ABS-CBN has been cleared by the BIR and DBP, making the matrix presented by Roque useless.
O may matrix na naman. Sinagot na ito sa hearing mismo ng involved na bangko and above board lahat as in any normal bank transaction and processes. https://t.co/efqIpZHtCx
— #SyLicoNgaAko (@SyLicoNgaAko) February 15, 2021
@FrancisAcero also questioned the amount of time being wasted by the government in addressing the ABS-CBN franchise. According to the netizen, based on the BIR and DBP, the Network did not fail to pay their loans nor their taxes. Moreover, he emphasized that the power solely comes from the one in control.
Why is Malacanang wasting time on the Lopez group's loans when they said they had nothing to do with the failure to pass the ABS-CBN franchise law? The failure to pass the law is solely from the wish of those in power to control editorial content.
— @lastboyonearth@hachyderm.io (@FrancisAcero) February 15, 2021
With the government focusing on ABS-CBN’s franchise, some netizens would like the administration to focus on the still-missing Philhealth funds.
@isabellemari117 stressed that the government is being obsessed with preventing ABS-CBN from getting their franchise back. However, they forgot the stolen 15 billion peso fund from Philhealth, and that’s what the netizen would like to know.
OMG, y'all obsessed with ABS-CBN… gurl, where's the 15B of Philhealth first??? https://t.co/lCJOz0yyMI
— 𝓲𝔃𝔃𝔂 🌸 (@barbramillcent) February 15, 2021
With Duterte nearing the end of his term, Filipinos still want the president to publicize his SALN and provide updates regarding the missing Philhealth funds. Just like other citizens, @xtianaban wants Duterte to publicize his SALN and provide updates regarding the Philhealth fund.
SALN + Philheath funds hindi mailabas at maasikaso and you think that we are going to fall for your bait and trust that unverified source of information? Uh, no. https://t.co/jengM0M7VN pic.twitter.com/O8jywkeYcM
— tyan (@xtianaban) February 15, 2021
