President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday admitted to using "presidential powers" in order to strike the former broadcast giant ABS-CBN.
He made the statement three days before stepping down from his post and approximately two years since the network's franchise renewal was denied by the House committee.
"I used the presidential powers to tell Congress that you are dealing with scoundrels and if you continue to kowtow with them, kawawa ang Pilipino," Duterte said during his speech at the oath-taking ceremony of his son, Davao City Mayor-elect Sebastian Duterte, and other officials of his hometown.
"Tinira ko talaga sila," he emphasized.
Back in May 2020, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) ordered ABS-CBN to stop its television and radio operations after its franchise expired.
Almost two months after, the House Committee on Legislative Franchises junked the corporation's application to renew its franchise on July 10, 2020.
In his speech, Duterte reiterated his previous claims saying that ABS-CBN "never paid taxes."
