President and chief executive officer (CEO) Carlo Katigbak shared that ABS-CBN will be forced to layoff employees if their franchise renewal would not be approved.
“[S]a mga darating na linggo, mapipilitan na kaming maglabas ng listahan ng mga empleyadong mawawalan ng trabaho,” Katigbak said during the hearing Kamara, Tuesday.
(In the coming weeks, we will be forced to release the list of employees who will lose their jobs.)
He said that as the ABS-CBN continues to go off the air, their company also continues to lose money.
The Philippines’ largest network initially said they lost P30 million to P35 million daily from advertising revenues after their shutdown.
It was May 5 when the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued a cease and desist order for the company to stop operations. This is because the Chamber did not take action on the more than a dozen pending franchise renewal bills until the franchise expired on May 4.
“Hindi po kami nagpapaawa. Umaapela po kami. Ibalik niyo po ang ABS-CBN para maprotektahan namin ang 11,000 kong kapamilya at ang kanilang mga minamahal sa buhay,” added Katigbak.
(We’re not asking for pity. We are appealing. Please bring ABS-CBN back to protect our 11,000 family members and their loved ones.)
Also read: US ‘concerned’ on ABS-CBN shutdown
ABS-CBN to layoff employees next week if shutdown continues
“Alam po namin na sa panahon ng pandemya, napakahirap pong mawalan ng trabaho. Dahil hindi madaling makahanap ng panibagong hanapbuhay,” Katigbak said.
(We know that during the pandemic, it is tough to lose a job. Because it’s not easy to find another job.)
The company maintains that there is no reason why the station should not return on air, as they have not breached any law.
Meanwhile, House Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta laid down the various alleged violations of the ABS-CBN law.
He said the company had a “tax evasion” case, while its rival GMA-7 paid P1.6 billion in taxes.
Instead of paying, ABS-CBN has declared a negative income of 84 million. He said this was the basis of the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s (BIR) case filed with the Court of Tax Appeals until the station agreed to pay P153 million.
Mercoleta also said that ABS-CBN is “politically biased,” an issue that is not related to the network’s franchise renewal.