Cable operators clarify report on Fox, AXN

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Cable Television Association Inc. (PCTA) yesterday denied protesting alleged violations of the country’s laws by foreign giants AXN Network Philippines Inc. and Fox International Channels Philippines Corp.

In a statement, the group of local cable operators disowned the reported statement attributed to PCTA president Leo Wong. 

“The person alleged to be the source of the article, Leo Wong, is not even a member of the current PCTA board. He has already issued a statement denying any statement attributed to him in the newspaper article,” the PCTA clarified.

It stressed that their group “enjoys a cordial relationship with Fox and AXN and deeply regrets any distress caused by these baseless allegations and machinations.”

PCTA denied a report that it had sought government action against an alleged “unfair competition” in the local cable television (CATV) industry that “poses threats to the continuing viability of constitutionally protected domestic industries and employment of its thousands of workers.”

The earlier report said the group had accused Fox and AXN of “wholesale violation of the Constitution, statutes and rules and regulations governing both mass media and advertising industries.”

The Constitution limits the ownership and management of mass media to citizens of the Philippines, or to corporations, cooperatives, or associations, wholly owned and managed by such citizens.