Lopezes not dismantled after ABS-CBN closure, says Palace

July 15, 2020

Malacañang insisted on Wednesday that President Rodrigo Duterte was not referring to the Lopez family as among those "oligarchs" whom he has dismantled without declaring martial law.

This was despite the supposed unedited speech of Duterte in Jolo, Sulu last Monday when he mentioned about ABS-CBN franchise.

The Lopezes controlled the giant broadcast network whose application for the renewal of franchise was turned down by Duterte's allies in the House committee on legislative franchises last week.

"Now, the Lopezes have not been dismantled, they have other businesses. They have First Gen. They are still a major player and the only player as far as LNG (liquefied natural gas) is concerned," Roque said in an interview with ANC.

He also said the Lopezes are still active in real estate, such as Rockwell Land.

"What their loss is, their ABS-CBN and it's because they have no franchise," the spokesman said.

Duterte, in the unedited speech in Sulu, slammed ABS-CBN.

"ABS-CBN treated me like shabbily, but I said when I win (in the election), I will dismantle the oligarchy in the Philippines," he said.

Radio Television Malacañang under the Presidential Communications Operations Office released on Tuesday the edited speech of Duterte during his visit to the government troops in Jolo.

In the edited speech, Duterte mentioned that he was able to dismantle oligarchy in the country without declaring martial law. The portion regarding ABS-CBN was not aired. Celerina Monte/DMS