President Duterte, May Mensahe Kay Senator Drilon At ABS-CBN Sa Kaniyang Ika-Limang SONA

On the fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte lamb4sted the Lopez family and Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon.

President Duterte had a special mention for the Senator, accusing the latter of defending the Lopezes.

The President said,

“In an interview, [Drilon] arrogantly mentioned that oligarchs need not be rich then he linked the Anti-dynasty system with oligarchy and the topic was my daughter and son.”

He added,

“This happened after the committee of franchises voted 70-11 to deny the grant of franchise to ABS-CBN…Obviously [Drilon] was defending the Lopezes that they were not oligarchs.”

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Duterte also tells how "oligarchs" used the media to battle political figures, claiming that he was a casualty of the Lopezes during the 2016 elections.


He said,

“Media is a powerful tool for the hands of oligarchs like the Lopezes, who use their media outlets to battle political figures. I was a casualty of the Lopezes during the 2016 elections.”

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It can be recalled the vowed of the President that he will do everything he could to block the franchise renewal of the ABS-CBN network. He even critic1zes the broadcasting network giant numerous times. He accused ABS-CBN Chairman Emeritus Gabby Lopez of getting his money for his campaign during the elections but didn't show his advertisement.


Duterte said,

“Gabby Lopez, I paid ABS-CBN P2.8 million…You accepted my money, you never bothered to show my propaganda (political advertisements). After the elections, you didn’t return the money.”

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But ABS-CBN officials said they didn't intend to not air the advertisement of the President. The network also apologized to Duterte for their shortcomings.

Meanwhile, Drilon challenged the President last week to destroy the real reason of oligarchy in the Philippines.

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The Senator said,
“You cannot equate rich and oligarch, meaning it does not mean that if you are rich, you are on oligarch. An oligarch is the one that influences the decision of the government or the one using their political power, their wealth in order that the policy that they want to protect their interest will be pursued.”

The statement of Drilon is released after the announcement of President Duterte that he already destr0y the oligarchy without declaring martial law after the Congress rejected the franchise application of ABS-CBN.