Ang Kapatiran party sues ABS-CBN for Chipeco snub

Three weeks after it threatened to boycott ABS-CBN for its alleged unfair coverage, Ang Kapatiran party filed a complaint against the network for supposedly violating the Fair Election Act. A report on QTV’s Balitanghali said the complaint stemmed from the exclusion of Ang Kapatiran party vice presidential bet Dominador Chipeco Jr. in the network’s vice presidential debate last month. The report did not indicate which provision of the Fair Election Act, or Republic Act No. 9006, ABS-CBN supposedly violated. It also did not mention where the complaint was filed.

ABS-CBN Corporate Communications head Bong Osorio said they would answer the allegation once they receive a copy of the complaint. “Just because they [Ang Kapatiran candidates] were not included in one [program] doesn’t mean they won’t be included in the future," Osorio said. Last March 26, Ang Kapatiran, led by its standard-bearer Olongapo City councilor John Carlos de los Reyes, said it would stop cooperating with ABS-CBN for Chipeco’s exclusion from the debate. “The media has the obligation to inform all voters about all the candidates. It was unfair to our party that our candidate was not even invited," party founding chair Nandy Pacheco earlier said. - Sophia Regina Dedace/KBK, GMANews.TV