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- He said that the artists are crying injustice and blaming the politicians when they lose their paychecks but fail to see “grave issues” against ABS-CBN.
After the National Telecommunications Commission served a cease and desist order to ABS-CBN Corporation who complied and went off the air, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano remained silent for a few days before issuing his statement on Facebook.
Cayetano responded to those who criticized the House for supposedly delaying the approval of the Kapamilya network’s franchise renewal.
He then called out the ABS-CBN celebrities who have stated their opinion and spoken out against the public officials.
The Speaker said that while loyalty to their company is important, the celebrities “cry injustice” and blame public servants when they lose their paychecks and yet miss the “fact” that there are grave issues against their network.
Among the said artists are Kim Chiu, Coco Martin, Angel Locsin, Angelica Panganiban, and many others.
Chiu and Martin have been vocal about their disapproval about the shutdown.
“By all means, let your voices of support for your network be heard. But if you really want to join the public debate, find it in your indignation to also support due process and fact-finding as this issue is imbued with public interest – not just yours,” Cayetano said.
He also mentioned the media whom he accused of blindly calling for the approval of ABS-CBN without hearing all sides.
“I cannot respect that. Do not weaponize this issue for your own personal agenda. That is a disservice to the very public in whose name you claim to stand for.”
Cayetano then ranted against people who are wanting to deal with the ABS-CBN issue before more important ones.
“Eh kayo nga isang dahilan kung bakit may mga issues ang network ninyo. Ang klarong bias at pakikialam sa election na bawal sa atin batas,” he said.
“Hindi po natin nilalahat ang mga journalists, ngunit tulad din ng pagpapakita ninyo na ang lahat ng mga politiko ay corrupt, lahat ng mga pulis ay abusado – damay ang buong institution sa maling gawain ng iba.”
Lawmakers such as Lito Atienza and Edcel Lagman blamed Cayetano and the House for the closure of the media giant.
Solicitor General Jose Calida also pointed his finger to Cayetano for the non-renewal.
