Malacañang maintained on Friday, July 10 that President Rodrigo Duterte's position over the franchise of broadcast giant ABS-CBN is "neutral" after a House of Representatives effectively ended hopes to have it renewed.
In several instances in previous years, Duterte accused the network of abuses, such as tax avoidance and refusal to run his political advertisements.
Duterte also warned in the past that he would rather not grant a fresh term for the franchise, whose 25-year effectivity lapsed this year.
In February, Duterte forgave the network, which apologized for failing to run his campaign advertisements before he rose to the presidency.
“I am just human, you know. I have kept a distance from the case. The House of Representatives and the Senate are deliberating on the franchise renewal,” he said.
“The decision must come from the lower house. Forget about all these hullabaloos, the ballgame is in the House.”
Duterte's allies in Congress recently accused the network of slanted news coverage and "big business" influence on public opinion.
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