Delon
Porcalla (The Philippine Star) - June 19, 2020 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines —
Former Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile told the House of Representatives
this week that the Lopezes offered to the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos their
companies ABS-CBN and Manila Electric Co. even before the former president
declared martial law in September 1972.
The 96-year-old former
defense minister of Marcos, considered the main architect of the military rule,
made the declaration before the joint committee investigating the alleged
violations of the television network ABS-CBN of its franchise, which expired on
May 4.
“They themselves told
Marcos or the government to get ABS-CBN and Meralco because they could no
longer service their loans. They were having difficulty paying their more than
P100-million loans,” Enrile, who appeared online, said in Filipino.
“Their debts were so
big,” he said in Filipino, to which Bulacan Rep. Jonathan Sy-Alvarado, chairman
of the House committee on good government, sought clarification, and which
Enrile amplified further, including the timeline “before martial law.”
Enrile also told Deputy
Majority Leader Jesus Crispin Remulla of Cavite that it would be best if they
could get a copy of a “report written by Don Emilio Abello, signed by Meralco”
executives.
The Lopezes are no
longer the owners of Meralco, which has since been taken over by business
tycoon and media mogul Manuel V. Pangilinan, who owns The Philippine STAR and
its sister company TV-5, among others.
ABS-CBN executive Jake
Almeda Lopez, who also happens to be a friend of Enrile and fellow 95-year-old
lawyer, confirmed that his family had indeed been in dire straits even before
Marcos declared martial law in 1972.
“Tama si Johnny
Enrile (who was my friend for about 70 years) that we were concerned
about the (financial) obligations,” Lopez told the panel, co-chaired by Palawan
Rep. Franz Alvarez, chairman of the House committee on legislative franchises.
“We even had to go
outside of the country because the local ones were very adamant,” he said,
recalling that the late ABS-CBN patriarch Eugenio Lopez Jr. bought the station
from Antonio Quirino, acknowledged father of Philippine TV and the brother of
ex-president Elpidio Quirino.
“As far as the DBP
(Development Bank of the Philippines) debts are concerned, this was a long time
ago. Antonio borrowed money from the government, hoping his brother will win in
the elections. Unfortunately, he lost to (former president Ramon) Magsaysay,”
Lopez said.
“Antonio borrowed the
money from the DBP,” he confirmed before lawmakers, adding the TV station
was first offered to the late Chino Roces of the Manila Times and Fred Elizalde
of dzRH before Geny Lopez bought it.
The Alvarez-Alvarado
joint panel has approved the motion of DUMPER PTDA party-list Rep. Claudine
Diana Bautista to look into the alleged “condonation” of about P1.67 billion in
government loans to ABS-CBN, along with other Lopez-owned companies.
Bautista disclosed that
the state-owned DBP had written off the loans it extended to the country’s
largest broadcast network, including telco Bayantel and water
utility Maynilad that were formerly owned by the Lopezes.
The condonation was
done during the time of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2006, it
was learned.
Lopez-owned firms that
reportedly benefitted from the “condonation” were Maynilad (P710.8 million),
Bayantel (P591.8 million) Central CATV Inc. (P207.10 million), then Benpres
(now Lopez Holdings, P157.9 million), all totaling P1.667 billion.
These were the issues,
among others, that caught the ire of President Duterte.
Another clash
Another clash between
lawmakers erupted during the Wednesday hearing on ABS-CBN.
Buhay party-list Rep.
Lito Atienza confronted Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta for allegedly
monopolizing the proceedings by the joint committee on legislative franchises
and good government and public accountability.
At an earlier hearing,
tension rose after Marcoleta had a heated exchange with Bayan Muna party-list
Rep. Carlos Zarate when he suggested to the latter to coach ABS-CBN chairman
emeritus Eugenio Lopez III in reciting the Panatang Makabayan.
At Wednesday’s hearing,
Atienza called the attention of Marcoleta for “browbeating” officials of the
broadcast giant by raising issues without giving them ample opportunity to
answer.
He cited the claim of
Marcoleta that three laws had granted the network franchises that added up to
150 years while ABS-CBN lawyer Mario Bautista was denied the chance to answer
such allegation.
He said it was clear
from the hearings that the Constitution was not violated by the ABS-CBN
franchise based on issues raised by Marcoleta.
“It’s not clear only to
Marcoleta because he had a different interpretation of the Constitution,” the
legislator said.
The hearing was
suspended twice when Cavite Rep. Remulla objected to Atienza’s use of the word
“browbeating,” which he described as “unparliamenary” and demeaning to the
character of Marcoleta.
Atienza objected to Remulla’s
motion to strike the word from the record, but in the end, the ruling favored
Remulla.
This did not stop
Atienza from resuming his appeal for fairness in the hearings.
He said Marcoleta and
Remulla had been monopolizing the proceedings in the chamber that has 305
members. Edu Punay
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