A year has passed, but it seems Congressman Mike Defensor is still on ABS-CBN’s case one year after the network’s shutdown.
On his online discussion with Congressman Rodante Marcoleta, Defensor cited the violations the Congress has against ABS-CBN.
“Mr. Lopez’s American citizenship and doubtful Filipino citizenship and allegiance to the Philippines.
“ABS-CBN’s possible violation of the constitutional prohibition against the ownership and management of Mass Media by foreigners.
“ABS-CBN’s numerous violation of the terms of its legislative franchise. Ito po ‘yung blackbox. ‘Yung Pay-per-view.
“ABS-CBN’s questionable, unjust, and immoral tax evasion schemes. Ito po ‘yung Big Dipper.
“ABS-CBN’s apparent use of a dummy. Ito ‘yung sa mga iba’t ibang bansa na gumamit ng dummy para maiwasan ang pagbayad ng buwis.
“And, ABS-CBN’s less than exemplary labor practices.”
Going through the violations stated by Cong. Defensor, here are some of the details that give answers to the allegations against ABS-CBN.
For foreigners owning ABS-CBN, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has already answered this allegation. According to SEC, the network didn’t commit any violations regarding the constitutional restrictions on foreign ownership.
There is also the violation of ABS-CBN’s legislative franchise. According to Senator Ralph Recto, it should have only warranted a fine instead of the denial of its franchise renewal.
As for the allegations about Tax Evasion, both the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have agreed that ABS-CBN has been compliant with regulations.
As for the allegations of unfair labor practices, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello said that ABS-CBN has been compliant with labor standards.
Now, the hearing for ABS-CBN’s violations has been going on for months. However, none of the allegations thrown against the network have been proven true.
That said, what is with the denial of the franchise if none of their accusations rang true?
