Lopez family retained ABS-CBN ownership despite sequestration order — Enrile

MANILA, Philippines (Update 1, 6:37 p.m.) — Despite the state takeover of ABS-CBN Corp. assets with the declaration of Martial Law in 1972, the ownership of ABS-CBN actually stayed with Lopezes, former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said on Wednesday. 

According to Enrile, who served as National Defense Minister at the time and carried out the sequestration order on media, the title to the company was not actually transferred to the government when the order was served. 

“ABS-CBN was never transferred to the government. They remained with the Lopezes," Enrile said at the joint hearing on Wednesday afternoon. 

“In 1986, to be exact it was February 26, I, as Secretary of National Defense and sequestrator of ABS-CBN and all the other television, radio and communication facilities in the country, issued an order to lift the sequestration of ABS-CBN,” he added. 

Enrile also previously said that the dual citizenship of ABS-CBN chairman emeritus Gabby Lopez was a "weak ground" for not renewing the company's legislative franchise. 

Responding to allegations that the network was simply returned to the Lopez family by the Aquino administration, ABS-CBN vice chairman Augusto Lopez, who formerly sat as general manager of the broadcast giant, asserted that it “took back” control of the network when it was taken over by the government during the Martial Law era. 

"Marcos did not return the station to us, we took it back of our own volition and with the forces of Enrile and Ramos," Lopez said in a mix of English and Filipino.

“We went into arbitration because the desire of both parties - the Malacanang 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 added.

Rep. Edcel Lagman (1st District Albay) for his part called the Lopezes’ ownership of ABS-CBN a "non-issue," pointing out again that previous court decisions that were never once challenged had already given legality to the return of the broadcast facilities to the Lopez family.

“Any challenge to the reacquisition of the Lopez family of ABS-CBN has been put to rest when Republic Act 7966 was enacted on March 13, 1995 granting ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation a legislative franchise for 25 years,” he said. 

Lopez asserted that the company worked with the government for the proper turnover of its the broadcast facilities after the EDSA Revolution through an arbitration, a claim backed by

ABS-CBN president and chief executive officer Carlo Katigbak, who said that all rental claims had already been settled through a compromise agreement with the government. 

Much of the same allegations had already been brought up at the earlier Senate hearing on the company's franchise, where various government agencies concluded that ABS-CBN abides by tax, labor, and corporate laws. 

At the previous hearing, Rep. Mike Defensor (Anakalusugan) moved to invite Enrile, who he said would have first-hand knowledge of the acquisition of ABS-CBN after Martial Law. 

Earlier, Enrile said that the magnitude of the killings and human rights violations committed over the Marcos regime were “debatable” and that the countless warrantless arrests made then were justified.

Rep. Edcel Lagman (Albay) said on Tuesday evening that ABS-CBN Corp. was "winning" its House franchise hearings, tallying a score at 3-0 so far.  — Franco Luna with reports from The STAR/Edu Punay

This is a developing story and will be updated.