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House members 'out of line' in urging ABS-CBN eviction -Gordon


The House members who discussed the confiscation of ABS-CBN's pieces of property and its workers' takeover of the network's operations were "out of line", Senator Richard Gordon said on Wednesday.

Gordon made the remark after Sagip party-list Representative Rodante Marcoleta proposed in a Zoom meeting with other House members on Friday that ABS-CBN be evicted from its land due to issues regarding its title.

The property dispute was among the issues raised against ABS-CBN during the House committee deliberations on the network's legislative franchise. The panel voted to deny the franchise application.

"I don't think they can confiscate the properties of the ABS-CBN without due process of law. They cancelled the franchise," Gordon told reporters in a virtual interview.

"ABS-CBN is free to own it. Hindi naman puwede agawin ang physical properties ng ABS-CBN. I think they are out of line there," he added.

Gordon said his counterparts in the House of Representatives should check their priorities.

"There are better things to do, bigger fish to fry. Itong COVID kailangan matapos natin ito, itong budget kailangan matapos natin ito pero bakit natin pag-aaksayahan pa, nasaktan na ang ABS-CBN?" Gordon said.

"Ang tingin ko lalabas na parang oppression na 'yan, mag-iingat sila diyan dahil what goes around comes around," he added.

An ABS-CBN representative maintained during the said hearing that the corporation already presented an original copy of its land title to the House.

Yet, Marcoleta insisted that it was not the one he was looking for.

Marcoleta even claimed that the land title presented by ABS-CBN was "made in Recto" referring to an area in Manila notorious for fabricating fake public documents.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III, meanwhile, urged ABS-CBN to settle its land title issue amid these proposals of ejection.

The House Committee on Legislative Franchises recently junked the media giant's franchise application, forcing the company to lay off its employees starting August 31.

ABS-CBN went off air since May 5 after the National Telecommunications Commission issued a cease and desist order.

The media company's 25-year franchise expired on May 4, pending the decision of Congress on its application for renewal then. -NB, GMA News

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