SAGIP Party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta has said that he "pities" showbiz personality and comedian Ogie Diaz, who recently told him to "move on" from the ABS-CBN issue.
Marcoleta responded to Diaz's statements during a recent interview with broadcaster Anthony Taberna.
"Alam mo hindi ako nagagalit, naaawa ako sa mga kababayan nating ganun (You know I'm not mad, instead I pity our countrymen who are like that)," said the lawyer-congressman, referring to Diaz who was brought up in the interview by Taberna.
Marcoleta said the likes of Diaz "only think of their personal welfare".
"Hindi nila iniisip na yung taong nagpipilit na ilaban yung pagsunod sa batas na dapat sana ay tulungan nila, samahan nila, sila pa yung--hindi ko maintindihan kung mayroon silang sapat na isip para unawain yung nilalaban ko. Kaya ako naawa sa kanila (They don't realize that, the person who they should help and join, who's fighting to uphold the law, they're the ones who are--I don't know if they have enough smarts to understand what I'm fighting for. That's why I pity them)," the veteran solon said.
"Hindi ako magagalit sa kanila, naaawa ako sa kanila (I'm not mad at them, I pity them)," he stressed.
Marcoleta has grabbed headlines recently for opposing the high-profile deal between the shuttered ABS-CBN and TV5.
As a lot of people know, Marcoleta played a big part in the rejection of ABS-CBN's franchise renewal application at the House of Representatives in 2020. He believes that the Kapamilya network committed several violations, which, according to him is the main reason why congressmen turned down the application.
Marcoleta's view of ABS-CBN still hasn't changed, especially with the latter's supposed reemergence via the TV5 transaction.
YOU'LL WANT TO READ THIS:
"Palagi kong iniisip yung pagpapatupad sa ating mga batas. Kung ang isang tao, mga organisasyon man o negosyo lalo na't malalaki ay sila mismo ang magsasalaula sa batas natin ay hindi naman tama yon. Ang mga batas ay inilatag at nandiyan para sa pambansang kagalingan (I always think about upholding our laws. If a person, or huge organizations or businesses are the ones desecrating our laws, then that's not right. The laws were laid down for the benefit of the nation)," he told Taberna.
"Ang unang dapat rumespeto diyan ay yung mga malalaking mga tao na iginagalang sa lipunan (The people of stature who are respected by society should be the first to respect the laws)," he added.