Jake Lopez: We took ABS-CBN back; It was not returned to us

“Hindi sinauli sa amin ng Marcos ang istasyon, nakuha namin sa aming sariling sikap kasama yung forces ni (Juan Ponce) Enrile at (Fidel) Ramos,” said Lopez said at the joint hearing of the House Committees on Legislative Franchises and on Good Government and Public Accountability.

(Marcos never returned the station to us. We got it back through our own efforts and with the help of the forces of Enrile and Ramos)

Lopez recounted how ABS-CBN worked with the Aquino government for the proper return of its broadcast facilities after the EDSA Revolution through arbitration.

“We went into arbitration because the desire of both parties - the Malacañang group and the Lopez group - that let us present this to a neutral body and let them be the one to resolve this problem,” he said.

Lopez also defended the payment of P97.5 million to ABS-CBN by the administration of then President Corazon Aquino for the government’s use of ABS-CBN broadcast facilities while the country was still in transition.

“’Yung P1.2 million (monthly payment) that is just a token amount. Bukod sa maliit na maliit yung sinulat namin, pumayag na lang kami. Kung anong gusto niyo, papayag na lang kami. Pero walang cash. Hindi sila magbabayad. Sabi namin, okay alam naman namin walang maibabayad ang Cory government, bagong bagong pasok lang,” he added

(The P1.2 million [monthly payment ] was just a token amount. Aside from what we wrote being very small, we just agreed. Whatever they [the government] wanted, we just agreed. But with no cash. They won’t pay anything. We said, okay we know the Cory government has nothing to pay us with, since it just started. )

Meanwhile, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said no constitutional provision in the 1987 Constitution was violated when the premises, facilities and operations of ABS-CBN were returned in 1986.

Lagman said the alleged violation is based on the claim that the Lopez family did not pay any compensation to the government when it reacquired ABS-CBN.

“Since the Lopez family as majority owners of ABS-CBN is the aggrieved party, it stands to reason that it should be the one to be compensated for the illegal seizure of ABS-CBN during martial law and the short takeover of the same by the Ramos-Enrile forces in the aftermath of the EDSA People Power revolution, which latter brief takeover was subsequently permitted by the Lopez family only for the duration of the crisis or emergency” he said.

He also pointed out that the return was covered by a legal order since it was approved by the Office of the President and a June 18, 1986 order of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG).