Lagman slams Duterte: stop EJK on press freedom

MANILA, Philippines — Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman on Thursday slammed President Rodrigo Duterte’s “extrajudicial killing” of press freedom by threatening to not renew the franchise of television giant ABS-CBN.

In a statement, Lagman said Duterte should stop his verbal threats and just bring his personal grievances to the proper forum.

“The President must institute with the proper judicial or administrative forum his personal grievances against ABS-CBN, instead of imposing an extrajudicial killing of the freedom of the press,” the opposition lawmaker said.

Lagman’s reaction came after Duterte’s latest tirades against the television giant, saying its owners should just sell the network.

Duterte’s advice for the Lopezes, the owners of ABS-CBN, to put the network on sale came as the President’s friend, Davao-based businessman Dennis Uy recently formed the Udenna Communications Media and Entertainment Holdings Corp., which expands his business to media and entertainment sector.

The President has repeatedly warned that he will block the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN after what he claimed was the network’s failure to air his campaign advertisement during the 2016 national elections.

“The blatant curtailment of press freedom by President Rodrigo Duterte for repeatedly threatening to block the renewal of ABS-CBN Corporation’s franchise, which expires in March 2020, is ominously reminiscent of the unceremonious closure nationwide of 392 media outlets in 1972 at the outset of Martial Law, including ABS-CBN’s predecessor, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation,” Lagman said.

The lawmaker said that on January 6, he would file a House resolution, “urging the Committee on Legislative Franchises to report out without further delay for plenary action a consolidation of nine (9) pending bills proposing the renewal of the media giant’s franchise.”

He said any “deliberate and arbitrary” denial of the extension of ABS-CBN’s franchise will render jobless the network’s 10,955 regular and non-regular employees, as well as talent and project-based workers, and “freeze P84.6 billion assets and investments” of the company.

“The unwarranted non-extension of ABS-CBN’s franchise… is also a violation of due process and the equal protection clause guaranteed by the Constitution,” he said.

“Selling ABS-CBN to an apparent Duterte crony is not an option,” he added.

As president, Lagman said Duterte must uphold the freedom of the press and respect the independence of the Congress, particularly the House of Representatives where franchise bills originate, in granting and extending franchises.

The House leadership and its members, he said, “must act independently in exercising exclusive congressional jurisdiction on the grant of franchises, and must not be cowed by the President’s wanton rantings.”