No one should force anyone to sell nor buy, Cayetano says of call to sell ABS-CBN

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday clarified that the Lopez family is not being forced to sell ABS-CBN, days after the House Committee on Legislative Franchises denied the franchise application of the network.

In an interview with CNN-Philippines, Cayetano asserted that "no one should force anyone to sell nor buy" property in a democracy.

"Ang narinig kong sinabi ni LRay [Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte] na kung mahal ng Lopezes and empleyado nila, consider na i-sell because para tumuloy-tuloy pa rin intact yung grupo nila," he said.

Cayetano was referring to an interview of Villafuerte with ANC last week where the latter said the Lopez family should sell ABS-CBN Corporation to new owners to save its employees from job loss or risk remaining shut even after the Duterte administration.

“Bottomline, my suggestion to the Lopez family, they just sell the corporation. If they really love the 11,000 employees or more and they really want to serve the Filipino people, ibenta na lang iyong kumpanya,” Villafuerte said.

“Ako, I will support the renewal under new management,” he added.

A total of 70 members of the House franchise committee voted to adopt the resolution of the technical working group it created recommending the denial of ABS-CBN's franchise application.

Following the denial of the network's franchise bid, Anakalusugan party-list Representative Mike Defensor proposed that ABS-CBN employees form a cooperative which could take over the management of the network in the future — a suggestion that Cayetano himself supports.

"I've always believed that we should support cooperatives and startups that government should make capital easy for them," he said.

"So if you’re asking me is it possible for the ABS-CBN employees including their big stars to take over both entertainment and news and public affairs, ang answer ko is yes. Is it easy? Definitely no," he added.

The proposal that ABS-CBN employees take over the management of the network can be done if the owners of the company themselves will support it, Cayetano said.

"Ang main issue kasi dito for most of the congressmen is really how ABS-CBN flaunted the law, went around tax laws, election laws, and how they used ABS-CBN to protect their business and to be kingmakers and kingslayers in Philippine politics," he said.

"Yan ang issue diyan and it’s only history that will be able to judge.... I’ve seen the benefits and the danger but history na lang makakajudge nyan so immediately, ang tanong natin, how do we help the industry, not just ABS-CBN," he added.

ABS-CBN went off air on May 5 after the National Telecommunications Commission issued a cease and desist against the network after its previous franchise expired the day before. — RSJ, GMA News