Pormal nang nagbitiw sa puwesto si Eugenio "Gabby" Lopez III bilang chairman emeritus at board director ng ABS-CBN Corporation.
Nagbitiw rin siya bilang board director ng anim pang ABS-CBN-affiliated companies. Kabilang dito ang ABS-CBN Holdings Corporation, Sky Vision Corporation, Sky Cable Corporation, First Philippine Holdings Corporation, First Gen Corporation, at Rockwell Land Corporation.
Ayon sa official statement ng ABS-CBN, inanunsiyo ni Lopez ang kanyang resignation sa organizational meeting ng Board of Directors ng korporasyon ngayong Huwebes ng umaga, September 24,
"Personal reasons" daw ang nagbunsod kay Lopez na umalis sa puwesto, at ito ay "effective immediately."
Sabi pa sa statement ng ABS-CBN, "He expressed his appreciation for the trust of the stockholders as well as to his co-directors and senior management for the privilege of having served with them over the years."
Nagbigay-pugay raw ang board of directors ng ABS-CBN Coporation sa pamumuno ni Lopez sa loob ng mahabang panahon.
"We thank him for his dedication and leadership in expanding and transforming ABS-CBN beyond television through the years.
"Just like his father, Eugenio ‘Kapitan Geny’ Lopez Jr., Gabby is a visionary and a compassionate leader driven by his love for the Philippines and the Filipino people.
"He would always tell the men and women of ABS-CBN that being a part of the network is not a job, but a calling."
Ikinalungkot man ng board of directors ang pag-alis sa puwesto ni Lopez ay nirerespeto raw nila ang desisyon nito.
"We respect his decision, offer him our full support, and express our sincerest gratitude for the tradition of innovation, nationalism, and public service that he cultivated in the minds and hearts of all Kapamilyas, past and present.
"We shall continue the journey that he and his father began as we remain in the service of the Filipino."
Si Gabby Lopez ay nagsilbing ABS-CBN chairman mula May 1997 hanggang April 2018.
Sabay niyang hinawakan ang mga puwestong chief executive officer at president mula May 1993 hanggang January 2013.
Ang pinsan ni Gabby Lopez na si Mark Lopez ang kasalukuyang chairman ng ABS-CBN, at pinsan din ni Gabby si Carlo Lopez Katigbak, ang president at CEO ng network.
abs-cbn BOARD DIRECTOR replacing gabby lopez
Sa meeting ng ABS-CBN Corporation board of directors, ang hinirang na pumalit kay Lopez bilang board director ay si Mario Luza Bautista, 66.
Nagsilbi si Bautista bilang general counsel at miyembro ng board of advisors ng kumpanya mula pa noong 2011.
Board adviser din daw ito ng First Philippine Holdings Corporation.
Sabi pa sa ABS-CBN statement hinggil sa credentials ni Bautista:
"He is a Founding Partner of the Poblador Bautista and Reyes Law Office and has been its Managing Partner since 1999.
"Mr. Bautista graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication Arts from the Ateneo de Manila University in 1975.
"He obtained his Bachelor of Laws Degree from the University of the Philippines in 1979 and ranked sixth in the Bar Examinations of that year."
GABBY LOPEZ'S CITIZENSHIP AND THE JUNKED ABS-CBN FRANCHISE
Isa si Lopez sa top executives ng ABS-CBN na humarap sa pagdinig sa Kongreso tungkol sa renewal ng franchise ng Kapamilya network.
June 8, 2020 nang dumanas siya ng panggigisa mula sa mga kongresista, sa pangunguna ni SAGIP Party-list Representative Rodante Marcoleta, hinggil sa isyu ng kanyang Filipino citizenship.
Nanindigan noon si Lopez na hindi kailanman naging sagabal ang kanyang dual citizenship sa kanyang pamumuno sa ABS-CBN.
"Alam niyo po, I'm already 68 years old. My record over the last 35 years is in the public records.
"You don't have to make a judgment without evaluating the evidences.
"So if you look at that judgement, I stand by the record that I have put together for the last 35 years as chairman of ABS-CBN. It is very clear what my actions have been.
"There is no question that there is no conflict of interest with my being a Filipino and being an American.
"Time and again, my actions have shown that I always favor the Filipino.
"That is why I say that the mission statement of ABS-CBN is in the service of the Filipino."
Pero hindi tinanggap ng Kongreso ang paliwanag ni Lopez.
Ang isyu ng dual citizenship ni Lopez ay ginawang isang dahilan sa pagbasura ng Kongreso sa application ng ABS-CBN para ma-renew ang prangkisa nito.
Nakasaad sa isinulat ng Technical Working Group (TWG) ng Kongreso na taong 2001 lamang nag-apply si Lopez para ma-recognize ang kanyang Filipino citizenship. Ipinagkaloob daw ito ng Bureau of Immigration at Department of Justice noong 2002.
Pero taong 2004 lamang daw nang gamitin ni Lopez ang kanyang Philippine passport, at noong panahon daw na iyon ay 50 taong gulang na si Lopez at ilang taon nang nagsisilbing pinuno ng ABS-CBN.
Ang kakulangan ng records para mapatunayang Pilipino si Lopez ay dahilan para magkaroon daw ng "cloud of doubt" sa kanyang Filipino citizenship at allegiance to the Philippines.
Ayon pa rin sa rekomendasyon ng TWG sa Kongreso, mahalagang isyu raw ito dahil mahigpit na ipinagbabawal sa batas na magmay-ari ng mass media company ang isang foreigner.
"Any iota of foreign equity is already a disqualification and results in violation of the constitutional prohibition."
Dagdag pa ng TWG, "Because Mr. Lopez is a dual citizen possessing both Philippine and US citizenships, this Committee believes that he is barred from owning and managing ABS-CBN, a mass media entity which the constitution restricts to Filipino citizens only. The fact of foreign citizenship disqualifies him from owning and managing a mass media entity."
Sa botohan sa Kongreso, 70 ang kongresistang sumang-ayon na ibasura ang ABS-CBN franchise application, 11 ang kontra rito, at tatlo ang nag-inhibit.
Hindi pa rito natatapos ang kalbaryo ng ABS-CBN.
May tatlo pang inihaing resolution ang ilang kongresista para imbestigahan ang mga isyu laban sa ABS-CBN na natalakay noon sa pagdinig tungkol sa prangkisa ng network.
Ang mga ito ay ang land title ng ABS-CBN sa Quezon City, ang ugnayan ng Kapamilya network sa AMCARA Broadcasting Network Inc., at ang umano'y hindi pinabayarang loans ng ABS-CBN sa Development Bank of the Philippines.
Sa lahat ng ito, hindi maikakailang malaki ang kinalaman ng personal na galit ni Pangulong Duterte sa ABS-CBN at sa Lopez family sa pagpapasara ng pinakamalaking TV network sa Pilipinas.
(Isa ka bang showbiz fan na laging updated at naghahanap ng latest chika? Share what you know. Join here! https://bit.ly/PEPChika)