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MANILA, Philippines – Solar Entertainment Corporation chairman Wilson Tieng filed an estafa complaint against the board of directors and officers of ABS-CBN Corporation for allegedly neglecting licensing and carriage fees for airing National Basketball Association (NBA) games in the Philippines.
ABS-CBN informed the Philippine Stock Exchange on Friday, August 18, that Tieng filed the criminal complaint before the Office of the City Prosecutor of Makati City on July 11.
Among the respondents are ABS-CBN chairman Eugenio Lopez III, president Carlo Joaquin Tadeo Katigbak, and chief content officer Ma Rosario Santos-Concio. (READ: Solar, ABS-CBN row over NBA broadcast moves to court)
The media and entertainment company dismissed the complaint as a “tool for harassment and said it would also take “appropriate legal action” against Solar.
“ABS-CBN believes that the criminal complaint, like the civil complaint, has no legal and factual basis, and is being used as a tool for harassment. ABS-CBN will take appropriate legal action to hold Solar responsible for this unfounded action,” it said.
The criminal case filed “is related to the civil case for damages filed by Solar against ABS-CBN in connection with their joint license agreement for the NBA games,” ABS-CBN said in its disclosure.
On May 16, the Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 209 granted a preliminary attachment to Solar Entertainment, which is suing ABS-CBN for P659.458 million in alleged unpaid fees.
The preliminary attachment, considered a regular procedure in similar civil cases, means the court is holding that much worth of ABS-CBN’s assets so that the assets are available for payment should Solar win the lawsuit.
ABS-CBN then said the court lifted the attachment on May 29, the same day it filed a motion to lift it.
In the complaint filed before the Mandaluyong court, Solar Entertainment alleged that ABS-CBN, as owner of Sky Cable Corporation, owed P659.458 million or 3 years worth of unpaid carriage fees. ABS-CBN denied this, saying it is Solar Entertainment that has “significant outstanding debts” to the Lopez-led firm.
Solar Enterntainment owns the rights to NBA games in the Philippines. In 2010, Solar and Sky Cable entered into an agreement to allow the ABS-CBN cable company to air Solar’s NBA channels Basketball TV (BTV) and NBA Premium.
On Friday, August 18, ABS-CBN shares went down by P41.75 each from a day before. – with a report from Lian Buan/Rappler.com
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