Senatorial aspirant and SAGIP Party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta on Thursday, Feb. 10 justified his rejection of ABS-CBN's franchise renewal, saying it was the network's own fault why it was shut down.
In his campaign speech in Valenzuela City, Marcoleta first defended former ABS-CBN actress and host Toni Gonzaga after she earned criticism for introducing Marcoleta during the UniTeam's proclamation rally on Tuesday, Feb. 8.
Marcoleta was among the lawmakers in the House of Representatives who strongly opposed the franchise renewal of the television and radio giant due to various reasons, including supposed violations of the law.
"Sana po ay magkaisa tayo. Wala na po yung patutsadahan, wala na yung pagkakakampi-kampi. Wala na 'yung kanya kanya, katulad po ngayon, inintroduce lang naman ako ni binibining Toni Gonzaga, ang dami nang nagagalit sa kanya (I hope we become united—no innuendos, no alliance, no division. Just like what happened, Ms. Gonzaga just introduced me but many are now angry at her)," the lawmaker said, referring to Gonzaga's indroduction of him during the proclamation rally of presidential aspirant Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and vice presidential candidate Sara Duterte at the Philippine Arena.
Marcoleta, who is running under BBM-Sara UniTeam senatorial ticket, then went on to fault ABS-CBN for its loss of franchise.
"Ang ginawa po natin ay atas ng tungkulin na ibinigay satin ng ating mga batas. Kailangan ipaglaban po natin ang mga kababayan natin, ng mga program na inyong papanoorin ay libre lang (What we did was our responsibility stated by the law. We needed to fight for our fellow to have a free access to television programs)," he said.
"Kahit na mayroong nawalan ng trabaho, talaga pong ganoon eh (Many might have lost jobs, but it is what it is)," he added.
Marcoleta said there are a lot of available jobs "if we help each other."
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Thursday reported that the unemployment rate in the country slightly increased to 6.6 percent in December 2021 from 6.5 percent in November.
"Hindi lang naman po ang ABS-CBN ang pagmumulan ng maraming trabaho. Marami pa po tayong trabahong magagawa kung matutulong tulong tayo (ABS-CBN is not the only source of jobs. We can generate more jobs if we help each other)," he added.