By ARGYLL CYRUS B. GEDUCOS
President Duterte last night accepted the apology of ABS-CBN president and chief executive officer Carlo Katigbak for the shortcomings of the network during the 2016 presidential elections as he denied his involvement in the filing of a quo warranto petition against the company.
Duterte made the statement two days after Katigbak, in a Senate hearing, apologized to Duterte if ABS-CBN has offended him when it did not air his paid campaign ads in 2016, saying it was not their intention to offend any candidate.
In an interview in Malacañang, Duterte said he accepts the apology of ABS-CBN’s top honcho because he is “only human.”
“Tao lang rin ako so…I accept the apology, of course,” he said.
The President likewise rejected Katigbak’s offer to return the P2.6 million that was spent by the then-Davao City mayor’s camp for the ads.
“‘Wag na. Ibigay na lang nila sa any charitable institution of their choice,” Duterte said.
Duterte has threatened to block ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal for their supposed bias against him, especially during the presidential elections. He also claimed accused the network of not returning his payment for his unaired campaign ads.
The President denied that he instructed Solicitor General Jose Calida to file the quo warranto petition, saying he cannot order the government’s lawyer because he does not report to him.
“The SolGen can only announce that there is a violation of the law and that he is going to investigate it. Wala na akong…Hindi ko masabihan ‘Do not do it. Stop it,'” Duterte said.
“The SolGen does not clear with me unlike the Secretary of Justice. He will call my attention or he will bring it up in the Cabinet. Ang SolGen hindi,” he added.
