ABS-CBN network sorry for not airing Duterte’s ads

MANILA: A top official of the country’s biggest broadcast network on Monday apologised to President Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte for their failure to air some of his political ads which he had already paid for in the 2016 elections.

“We are sorry if we offended the president. That was not the intention of the network. We felt we were just abiding by the laws and regulations that govern the airing of political ads,” Carlo Katigbak, the head of the broadcast giant ABS-CBN told the Senate Committee on Public Services.

Katigbak added: “Today, we want to make a categorical statement together with our chairman Mark Lopez, that the ABS-CBN does not and will not have its own political agenda.”

The committee, chaired by Senator Grace Poe, conducted the hearing following a controversy that arose from Duterte’s repeated announcement opposing the application of ABS-CBN for an extention of its franchise for another 25 years.

Aside from the apology, Katigbak also revealed that the network remitted to Duterte about $200,000 representing the payment of the political ads which they failed to air. The network’s franchise is to end in May this year.

Duterte had insisted that instead of playing his political ads, ABS-CBN played a similar ad which placed him in bad light. But despite this, Duterte won overwhelmingly in the 2016 presidential elections.

Media groups and human rights advocates assailed Duterte for his stand, pointing out this violated the righs to freedom of speech and freedom of the press as guaranteed by the Philippine Constitution.

In particular, these groups slammed the House of Representatives, dominated by administration lawmakers, for allegedly sitting on the application of ABS-CBN for the extension of its franchise in line with Duterte’s threat.

Legal experts pointed out that the Constitution gives the House the sole power and authority to either reject or approve applications for franchises.

But the controversy took on a more strange legal twist when Solicitor General Jose Calida, the government’s chief lawyer, filed a quo warranto petition asking the Supreme Court (SC) to cancel the ABS-CBN franchise.