Takeover plot vs ABS-CBN properties is against the law, legislator says

ABS-CBN News

<div><script src="https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&amp;version=v2.5" async="" type="text/javascript"></script></div><div class="fb-post" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2591128907819207" data-width="auto"> </div><p>MANILA — A plot to possess the land where ABS-CBN Corp. is headquartered is illegal and unconstitutional, a lawmaker said on Tuesday, after his colleagues bared plans to &quot;take over&quot; the Quezon City lot following their rejection of the company&#x27;s franchise renewal bid. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/20/20/marcoleta-eyes-takeover-of-abs-cbn-compound-roque-says-palace-has-no-stand">Marcoleta eyes takeover of ABS-CBN compound; Roque says Palace has &#x27;no stand&#x27;</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/07/20/20/pagkamkam-sa-lupa-ari-arian-ng-abs-cbn-niluluto-ng-ilang-kongresista">Pagkamkam sa lupa, ari-arian ng ABS-CBN niluluto ng ilang kongresista</a></li></ul><p>A Zoom meeting among congressmen last Friday revealed their plan to go after ABS-CBN&#x27;s compound and its assets in Quezon City, after the company failed to obtain a new franchise from a House committee to broadcast on free TV and radio.</p><p>Among the participants in the virtual meeting were House Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta, Anakalusugan Rep. Michael Defensor, and Deputy Majority Leader Jesus Crispin Remulla. </p><p>But according to Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate, his colleagues&#x27; plan is &quot;unconstitutional.&quot; </p><p>&quot;That&#x27;s against the rules, against the law. Unconstitutional &#x27;yan dahil sinasabi sa Constitution na bigyan ng due process. If you&#x27;re in fact deprived of life, liberty, and property, dapat dadaan &#x27;yun sa proseso na ayon sa ating batas,&quot; Zarate said.</p><p>Marcoleta raised questions on the validity of ABS-CBN&#x27;s title to the property during the franchise hearings. </p><p>But Zarate said the certified true copy of the title submitted by the network to the legislative franchises committee was an &quot;incontrovertible proof of ownership&quot; unless found invalid by the court.</p><p>Marcoleta can question the matter before the court but would need to prove that he is a &quot;party in interest,&quot; said Zarate.</p><p>The Lopez family has repeatedly maintained that it never lost ownership of ABS-CBN even after it was seized by the Marcos dictatorship during martial law.</p><p>Former Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile had also testified before Congress and said the Lopez family never lost ownership of its broadcast properties. </p><p>&quot;The titles of all of these facilities were never transferred to the government. They remained with the owner,&quot; Enrile told a congressional inquiry on ABS-CBN&#x27;s franchise last June 17.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/17/20/enrile-denies-govt-seized-ownership-of-abs-cbn-from-lopezes-during-martial-law ">Enrile denies gov&#x27;t seized ownership of ABS-CBN from Lopezes during martial law</a></li></ul><p>Meanwhile, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Refus Rodriguez, one of the lawmakers who sought to grant ABS-CBN a fresh 25-year franchise, said other lawmakers should just leave ABS-CBN alone as their move might already be perceived as &quot;pure harassment.&quot; </p><p>&quot;I think that is uncalled for... I urge my fellow members of the committee not to anymore pursue these kinds of actions which could be seen already as pure harassment,&quot; Rodriguez told ANC in an interview Tuesday. </p><p>On July 10, 70 lawmakers from a House panel decided to kill ABS-CBN&#x27;s franchise bid, effectively shutting the network&#x27;s free TV and radio broadcasts down for good.</p><p>Five days later, ABS-CBN Corp. announced that it would cease the operations of some of its businesses and lay off workers effective August 31, 2020.</p><div><em>News.abs-cbn.com is the official news website of ABS-CBN News.</em></div>

<p>A plot to possess the land where ABS-CBN Corp. is headquartered is illegal and unconstitutional, a lawmaker said on Tuesday, after his colleagues bared plans to "take over" the Quezon City lot following their rejection of the company's franchise renewal bid. </p>

A plot to possess the land where ABS-CBN Corp. is headquartered is illegal and unconstitutional, a lawmaker said on Tuesday, after his colleagues bared plans to "take over" the Quezon City lot following their rejection of the company's franchise renewal bid.