By Ben Rosario Embattled ABS-CBN on Monday slammed accusations that it breached provisions of the Constitution even as it declared that its former chairman and President Eugenio Gabriel Lopez III is an American citizen and that nothing unlawful was committed when government acknowledged the Lopez family as its real and legal owner in 1986. This view shows the ABS-CBN network headquarters in Quezon City in the Metro Manila area on May 5, 2020. (Photo by Maria TAN / AFP / FILE PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) ABS-CBN President Carlo Katigbak stressed that the network giant’s management had not committed any violation of the Constitution and the law as he testified before the joint hearing of the committees on Legisaltive Franchise and on Good Government. The two House panels also heard the sponsorship speeches of majority of authors of 13 legislative measures relevant to ABS CBN’s application for a new 25-year franchise. Solicitor General Jose Calida and Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba of the National Telecommunications Commission who both aired legal issues that might trigger their respective testimonies. Both cited the on-going Supreme Court cases on the ABS-CBN controversy involving them. Answering accusations hurled by Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta during last week’s opening of the franchise hearings, Katigbak said the 1935 Constitution clearly considers Lopez a natural born citizen, having been born to Filipino parents in 1952. While Lopez holds a US passport, Katigbak said this is a natural consequence of his being born in the United States of America. In his sponsorship speech of a bill granting ABS-CBN a new franchise, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, a former dean of the School of Law of the San Sebastian College, said there is no question Lopez is indeed a Filipino citizen based on the Constitution. Deputy Speakers Loren Legarda and Vilma Santos, together with Reps. Sol Aragones (NPC, Laguna) and Joy Tambunting (PDP-Laban, Paranaque City), endorsed the grant of new legislative franchise for the network. All of them candidly acknowledged having worked previously for the network. The lady solons cited the network’s role in nation building and in being a major source of information and entertainment for millions of Filipinos. “My mentors in ABS-CBN taught me a lot about work—the value of work, the importance of working for God,” said Rep Joy Myra Tambunting ,author of House Bill 3713 Aragones also stated: “ABSC-BN went above and beyond by helping those in need.” “The Lopez family never gave up ownership of ABS-CBN. It was never sold nor was ownership ever transferred,” Katigbak declared as he explained that the network was illegally seized by government at the inception of martial law in 1972. Katigbak also disputed Marcoleta’s claim that as a result of the issuance of the Phililppine Depository Receipts by ABS-CBN Holdings Inc., another constitutional violation had been committed by the network. According to Katigbak, the Securities and Exchange Commission already cleared the network and upheld the legality of the PDR issuances. “Hindi lang kami ang hindi nagbenta ng PDR. Katulad ng GMA hindi ito naging issue sa pagbigay ng franchise nila,” stressed the network executive, referring to ABS-CBN’s competitor in the broadcast industry. He also rejected accusations that ABS-CBN had been granted over 50 years of legislative franchises in violation of the Charter. Again, Katigbak cited competitor GMA 7 that has been in operations for 70 years now. He also noted that IBC 13 was granted a congressional franchise in 1955 and has been operating for 65 years; TV 5 and RPN 9 in 1960, completing 60 years in broadcasting. The ABS-CBN president said ABS-CBN’s franchise life had been limited to 25 years. Meanwhile, Calida said ABS CBN violated the Constitution and the laws of the land, including the 25-year legislative franchise that expired on May 4. By charging P30 or P99 from the viewing public to be able to watch movies and other contents in its related media channels, the network already violated the congressional franchise, Calida stated. In issuing PDR’s, the ABS CBN Corporation allowed foreigners to participate in a media enterprise in the country, an act that is barred under the 1987 Constitution, said the chief legal counsel of government. ` Calida also called out actor Coco Martin for his emotional media declarations over the closure of ABS-CBN. He noted that while Martin apologized for the alleged “tantrums”, the lead actor of the long-running TV series “Ang Probinsyano” accused him of making a fool of the country.