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(ABS-CBN)
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The somnambulism of "people power" is now venerated by a leader that was catapulted to power by means of coup d' etat heightened by the traitorous agitation of the CPP and its front organizations. Their brand of democracy was chiseled out an ideology made up of the thoughts of the globalists, oligarchy, clerics, feudal lords, and now by the mercenary communists. Thus, when the zealots conceived of People's Initiative, nobody entertained the thought it was in fact a secret weapon they would use against the restiveness of the people they liberated from the "dictatorship."


Section 2, Article XVII of the Cory Constitution provided the framework in what the owners of ABS-CBN would now use as their magic bullet against the decision by Congress that put to rest the oligarchy's instrument as political kingmaker. To quote: 

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"Amendments to this Constitution may likewise be directly proposed by the people through initiative upon a petition of at least twelve per centum of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least three per centum of the registered voters therein. No amendment under this section shall be authorized within five years following the ratification of this Constitution nor oftener than once every five years thereafter."

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Cory Aquino approved on August 4, 1989 <a href="https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1989/08/04/republic-act-no-6735/" class="news_link" title="R.A. No. 6735" target="_blank">R.A. No. 6735</a> or a law to implement "people's initiative." Reading the law one could see the concept is to legalize or de-legalize what Congress has enacted. Its duty is to purposely check Congress but given a sound bite by calling it "People's Initiative."


The People's Initiative is a political mechanism intended to directly substitute the acts of Congress. It was drafted by the oligarchy in collaboration with their foreign monopoly capitalists and handed as originating from the people. R.A. No. 6735 cited three forms of initiative, and are as follows: 1) an initiative to amend the constitution or to get away with the constitutional process of amending the charter; 2) an initiative to introduce legislation or usurp the very function of Congress; and 3) an initiative that would introduce ordinances and resolutions intended to substitute local government laws.


The question, can the grant of franchise to ABS-CBN which was already rejected by Congress be introduced in the form of a referendum? We must not forget that a franchise is a legislation to grant to the private owner the right to operate radio and television station nationwide. It is a private contract between the State and the owner, it being the sole beneficiary of that privilege.


Congress rejected by 70 to 11 with two abstentions and two absences the application for franchise by ABS-CBN. Congress has the right to investigate the background of the owners whether they have the capacity to operate and provide service to our people.


The government is under an obligation to inquire about the citizenship of the applicant it being a requirement for ownership in mass media. It turned out that Gabby Lopez is not a Filipino citizen when he joined ABS-CBN. His defense of having become a dual citizen in 2003 cannot retroact to quash his violation of the prohibition.


The difficulty is that the owners seeking to operate radio and television stations has a business closely related to mass media or the dissemination of news and information. It is this hairline distinction that owners mix to exploit the idea of press freedom with their economic interest. A great majority of its business pertains to entertainment and television series which in fact is the bulk of its income.


There was also discrepancy in the payment of tax. The tax paid by ABS-CBN in 2017 to 2019 was only ₱563.01 million while its main rival, GMA 7 for the same period paid ₱3.13 billion despite the obvious disparity in size, frequency, channels and revenue from advertisers.


ABS-CBN applied the illegal practice of corporate tax layering by putting up offices in Hungary, Luxembourg, Cayman Islands, and domestically inside PEZA to minimize if not avail of tax exemption. They put up front company known as the Big Dipper Corp., and took advantage of the tax incentives offered through PEZA through the mere export of digitalized movies and shows the company itself produced.


The investigation committee turned out to be an embarrassment to the touted oligarch and political kingmaker because it could not produce the original title to the property where ABS-CBN is located. Photocopies of the title it furnished showed that the land area is only about 42 square meters and is located in a different area. Comparing the subsequent photocopy of the title it furnished indicate an accretion of more than 44,000 square meters. This means ABS-CBN already crossed the line by committing possible criminal liability of land grabbing and non-payment of real estate tax.


ABS-CBN likewise bloated their number of employees to more than 11 thousand. Records show it has only more than 1,700 employees. Of this, only 25 percent or 2,661 of the 11,701 workers are regular employees, and the rest were contractual workers.


ABS-CBN issued Philippine Depositary Receipts in violation of the prohibition on foreign ownership. PDR issued to foreign investors remain under the control of the owners. It was discovered that foreign holders of PDRs own 187 million or representing 62 percent of the total shares of the company in disregard of the prohibition on foreign participation in wholly Filipino-owned corporations.


On its television programming, ABS-CBN used frequency Channel 43 to generate multiple channels or programs to be included in its digital television service, and TV Plus Box. There is no authorization from the NTC to allow them to produce the TV Plus Box containing multiple channels, much less to sell them for profit. According to the NTC, ABS-CBN has no authority to encrypt or lock non-paying public on its TV Plus Boxes, which are "free-to-air" under the franchise. Furthermore, it was also learned that ABS-CBN did not secure any prior permit to charge viewers of its Kapamilya Box Office (KBO) on its pay-per-view channel.


A conservative estimate for the holding of people's initiative will entail expenses of not lower than P4 billion. The cost for the preparation alone will take a minimum of six months. Even assuming the Comelec has the budget, the voters must bear in mind the franchise has already been rejected by Congress.


People's initiative is equivalent to passing on the burden to the taxpayers to reverse the decision of a constitutionally authorized body. Worse, the franchise sought to carry out a special law intended to benefit the private stockholders, which at its worse amounts to asking the Republic to take back what it already regurgitated while uncannily keeping silent of who will bear the cost that originated from their own misdeeds.



Sources: 

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ABS-CBN's silly idea, July 25, 2020, <a href="https://manilastandard.net/opinion/columns/backbencher-by-rod-kapunan/329487/abs-cbn-s-silly-idea.html" class="news_link" target="_blank" title="Source">Rod Kapunan</a>, Manila Standard
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People's Initiative: A referendum to grant franchise already rejected by Congress - At what cost to the taxpayer?