Duterte raised ABS-CBN 'sin' before saying he dismantled oligarchy

President Rodrigo Duterte mentioned a problem he had with ABS-CBN before claiming in a speech before troops in Jolo on Tuesday that he had dismantled the oligarchy in the country.

According to Joseph Morong's report on "24 Oras", an unedited audio clip of the chief executive's speech indicated that Duterte talked about ABS-CBN and the scuttled oligarchy after a rant against some business leaders.

Duterte's spiel against ABS-CBN, the Ayala group, Manny V. Pangilinan and the  Consunji group appear to have been edited out of the video posted on the website of the Presidential Communications Operations Office.

“‘Yun namang ABS-CBN, binaboy ako. Pero sinabi ko, ‘Kapag ako ang nanalo, bubuwagin ko ang oligarchy ng Pilipinas.’ Ginawa ko ‘yan without declaring martial law, sinira ko ‘yung mga tao na humahawak sa ekonomiya at umiipit at hindi nagbabayad,” he said.

The PCOO version of Duterte’s speech also omitted his mention of alleged anomalous properties and investments of ABS-CBN.

“Itong pangyayari ng ABS, sabihin ninyo sa mga anak ninyo, tax-free ‘yan. All equipments ng ABS-CBN, tax-free pumasok. Tapos ang titulo nila 44 square meters [sa] Mother Ignacia, it’s supposed to be 44,000 square meters. ‘Yung mga lokohan ng mga titulo tapos may holding company sa labas,” he said.

The raw audio file also showed that Duterte mentioned the news website Rappler, a vocal critic of the administration.

"At saka 'yang mga komunista, mga leftist, 'yang mga Rappler, kung ano-ano ang pinagsasabi, magsira. O ngayon, sila Amerikano. Ang masakit diyan, ang may-ari Amerikano,” he said.

“Tapos ‘yung mga Board of Directors nila Solita Monsod, Ayala, p— ina papaano? Papaano ang maliit na Pilipino? Paano lumaban? 'Yung mga p— inang Español ang salita, ang mukha naman parang tindera ng palengke,” Duterte added.

GMA News has also sought ABS-CBN and Rappler’s comments on the matter.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, who said just a day earlier that Duterte’s statement on “dismantling the oligarchy” was directed at tycoon Lucio Tan, the Ayalas, and MVP, said he could not ascertain if the president’s speech was edited since he was not at the event.

“Wala po ako sa Jolo so kung hindi ko alam kung ano talaga ang sinabi. Wala naman po akong kinalaman do’n sa airing ng tape,” Roque said.

The spokesman added that there was nothing wrong with the editing of the speech.

“Hindi naman po [mali]. In the first place, we’re assuming edited. Ako po, wala akong knowledge because I was not there. Kaya nga po sa trabaho ko, talagang minamabuti ko na dapat palaging kasama kay presidente, hindi lang para marinig siya kundi para makausap siya,” Roque said.

Despite the uncut audio showing that Duterte was talking about ABS-CBN, Roque maintained that the president’s statement was not about the Lopez family. 

“He was referring po doon sa mga oligarchs na binantaan niya na ipakukulong niya. Kasi ang presidente naman po ay hindi po ‘yan nagmi-mince ng words niya ano,” he explained.

“Talaga namang sinabi na niya sa mga, kay MVP at sa mga Ayala na ‘Ipakukulong ko kayo dahil dinadaya niyo ang publiko.’ Iba naman ang sinabi niya sa ABS-CBN no’ng hindi pa siya nagpapatawad,” Roque added.

After lashing out at oligarchs in the Philippines, Duterte went on to say in the same speech that he wants his “helpful friends” become richer. 

ABS-CBN’s bid for a new 25-year franchise was rejected by a House panel last week. -Julia Mari Ornedo/NB, GMA News