Vice Ganda (Image: Instagram/@praybeytbenjamin)
Kapamilya actor and comedian Vice Ganda addressed those who allegedly “targeted” the media giant ABS-CBN, particularly the Lopez family, who owned the network.
Vice stressed that the TV network’s employees are the ones suffering the most from its ceased operations—not the Lopez family—after the media giant’s application for a fresh franchise was denied in Congress.
“Sa pagpapasara ng [ABS-CBN] mawawalan ng malaking pagkakakitaan ang mga Lopez,” Vice stated via Twitter yesterday, July 17. “Pero sigurado akong di sila maghihirap. Napakayaman na nila para maghirap.”
(Closing ABS-CBN will make the Lopezes lose a great deal of income, but I am sure they will not suffer. They are far too wealthy to suffer.)
Regular workers who lost their jobs amid the COVID-19 crisis are the ones who will truly experience hardship during this time, said the TV host.
Sa pagpapasara ng ABS CBN mawawalan ng malaking pagkakakitaan ang mga Lopez. Pero sigurado akong di sila maghihirap. Napakayaman na nila para maghirap. Ang totoong magdudusa dito ay ang mga pangkarinawang manggagawa na nawalan ng trabaho. Sila ang maghihirap.
— jose marie viceral (@vicegandako) July 17, 2020
“Kaya kung inaakala [niyong] nagtagumpay kayo e nagkakamali kayo,” he added in a follow-up tweet. “Mali ang natarget [niyo.] Mali ang pinatay ninyo. At lahat yan ay mumultuhin at gagambalain kayo.”
(If you thought you succeeded, then you are mistaken. You had the wrong target. Who you killed was wrong and all of them will haunt and disturb you.)
Kaya kung inaakala nyong nagtagumpay kayo e nagkakamali kayo. Mali ang natarget nyo. Mali ang pinatay ninyo. At lahat yan ay mumultuhin at gagambalain kayo. Alam nyo kung sino kayo!
— jose marie viceral (@vicegandako) July 17, 2020
The media company lost its bid for another 25-year franchise on July 10, after the majority of the House committee on legislative franchises members voted “yes” to reject the network’s application.
ABS-CBN’s lack of franchise leaves 11,000 employees at risk of losing their jobs. The network has already announced that it will begin retrenching workers by the end of August. It will also cease operating some of its businesses.
Meanwhile, President Rodrigo Duterte announced that he has “dismantled the oligarchy that controlled the economy and the Filipino people” without declaring martial law, during his taped speech in Sulu aired last Tuesday, July 14.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque later clarified that Duterte’s declaration was not in reference to the Lopez family. However, unedited audio of Duterte’s Jolo address cited by the Philippine Daily Inquirer stated that the President aired fresh tirades against the network during his speech.
Roque has consistently maintained that the President was “neutral” on the ABS-CBN issue. He also refused to comment on the report stating that the President criticized ABS-CBN anew, since he said he did not have any personal knowledge of it.
Vice is part of the growing list of celebrities who have expressed their grief and disappointment over the TV network’s denied franchise renewal. /ra
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