Passport isn’t only proof of citizenship! ABS-CBN in a statement: “Mr. Gabby Lopez is a Filipino citizen."

Photo courtesy of Forbes and Rappler

ABS-CBN finally issued the statement following a news report which claimed that the broadcasting corporation has long been headed by a US citizen, which is a violation of the Constitution.

The country's giant media network on Monday maintained that the corporation’s Chairman Emeritus, Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III, is a natural-born Filipino citizen and “is qualified to own shares in a mass media company.”

In a statement, ABS-CBN maintained that top honcho Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III, is a natural-born Filipino citizen and “is qualified to own shares in a mass media company.”

Apparently, SolGen Calida has proof that will show that Gabby Lopez III was a United States citizen during the time when his family controlled ABS-CBN Corp. in 1987.

Calida has presented documents from the Department of Justice (DOJ) dating way back to 2001 which showed that the ABS-CBN chair was not a Filipino citizen.

In an article of Bilyonaryo, ABS-CBN Corp. issued a statement affirming the Filipino citizenship of their chairman emeritus after SolGen Calida insisted that the government only recognized Lopez’s nationality on April 2001 or more than a decade after his family regained control of the largest media company in the country.

“Mr. Gabby Lopez is a Filipino citizen."

 "Gabby Lopez was born in the United States but it does not erase his Filipino citizenship."

He did not need to acquire Filipino citizenship because he never lost it nor renounced it.

He was born in the US and under the US Constitution, he is also a US citizen.

He was born to Filipino parents — under the 1935 Constitution that was in effect when he was born,  which automatically makes him a Filipino citizen.

He did not need to acquire Filipino citizenship because he never lost it nor renounced it,” said ABS-CBN in a statement.

“He was born in the US and under the US Constitution, he is also a US citizen."

"A passport is not the sole proof of citizenship,” it added.

In his previous statement, Calida claimed Gabby Lopez was only recognized as a Filipino based on a recognition order issued by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and affirmed by then Justice Secretary Hernando Perez in August 2001.

“Clearly, when ABS­ CBN Corporation’s franchise was approved on March 30, 1995, through Republic Act No. 7966, Mr. Lopez, in strict terms, was an American citizen, another violation of our nationalization laws,” said Calida.

“Despite being recognized as a Filipino in 2001, Mr. Lopez continued to use his American passport as shown by the List of Travel Records dated March 3, 2020 issued by the BI,with Control No. 20034520. His actuations patently belie his recognition and acceptance of the authority of the Philippines and cast doubt on his true faith and allegiance,” he added.

However, the Kapamilya network clarified that when Lopez requested the BI to recognize his citizenship, “it was for the purpose of getting official recognition of his Filipino citizenship.”

“The Department of Justice and the Bureau of Immigration have both recognized the Philippine citizenship from birth of Mr. Lopez as contained in Identification Certificate No. 0069 dated 1 Oct 2002,” it added.

Read ABS-CBN's issued statement below:

Si Gabby Lopez ay isang Filipino citizen.

Ang mga magulang niya ay Filipino nang siya ay ipinanganak, at sa ilalim ng 1935 Constitution na epektibo noong ipinanganak siya, awtomatiko ay isa siyang Filipino.

Hindi na niya kailangan pang kumuha ng Filipino citizenship dahil hindi naman ito nawala at hindi niya rin tinalikuran ang kanyang Filipino citizenship.

Ipinanganak siya sa US at sa ilalim ng US Constitution, isa rin siyang US citizen.

Hindi lang pasaporte ang nag-iisang basehan ng citizenship. Noong lumapit si Ginoong Lopez sa Bureau of Immigration, ito ay para lamang opisyal nilang kilalanin ang kanyang pagiging Filipino.

Parehong kinilala ng Department of Justice at Bureau of Immigration ang Philippine citizenship mula kapanganakan ni Ginoong Lopez ayon sa nakasaad sa Identification Certificate No. 0069 na may petsang 1 October 2002.