MANILA, Philippines — Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman on Thursday slammed President Rodrigo Duterte’s “extrajudicial killing” of press freedom by threatening to not renew the franchise of television giant ABS-CBN. In a statement, Lagman said Duterte should stop his verbal threats and just bring his personal grievances to the proper forum. ADVERTISEMENT“The President must institute with the proper judicial or administrative forum his personal grievances against ABS-CBN, instead of imposing an extrajudicial killing of the freedom of the press,” the opposition lawmaker said. “Selling ABS-CBN to an apparent Duterte crony is not an option,” he added. ADVERTISEMENTAs president, Lagman said Duterte must uphold the freedom of the press and respect the independence of the Congress, particularly the House of Representatives where franchise bills originate, in granting and extending franchises.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer January 02, 2020 03:56 UTC