Hindi raw pinigilan ni Liza Diño ang pag-upo sa puwesto ni Tirso Cruz III bilang bagong chair ng Film Development Council of The Philippines.
Ito ang malinaw na sagot ni Liza, ang immediate past chair ng FDCP, sa ipinadala niyang e-mail sa PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) nitong May 17, 2023.
Ang e-mail ay patukoy sa tanong kay Liza ng PEP.ph: "Was there an incident when you tried to stop the incoming chair from taking over the position once the new chairmanship was announced by Malacanang?"
Sagot ni Liza (published as is): "No, I was summoned by the Office of the Executive Secretary some days after the new Chairman had taken his oath but that was only to inform me officially about the appointment and to say that it was done."
July 5, 2022 nang manumpa si Tirso bilang bagong FDCP chair.
Hindi ito agad pumasok sa FDCP office.
Nanatili pa muna si Liza sa puwesto hanggang sa unang araw ng pagpasok ni Tirso noong July 21, 2022.
Ipinaliwanag ng 2016 to 2022 FDCP chair sa PEP.ph ang pangyayari.
Sa e-mail, sinabi ni Liza (published as is): "In case you are referring to the clarification that Malacañang released about my holdover at that time, it was just because the new Chairman’s actual appointment papers weren’t released yet and operations still needed to continue.
"We received the papers a few weeks after that which officially instated the new Chairman."
Ang tinutukoy ni Liza na "holdover" ay ang pagtalaga raw ng Malacañang sa kanyang "holdover capacity" habang hindi pa lumalabas ang appointment papers ni Tirso.
June 7, 2022 nang mag-post si Liza sa Facebook para sabihing kinumpirma sa kanya ng Malacañang na si Tirso na ang bagong chair at hihintayin na lamang ang appointment papers nito.
Taliwas naman ang salaysay ni Liza sa salaysay ng industry insiders at stakeholders na kusang humarap sa PEP.
THE INCIDENT WHEN LIZA WAS FURIOUS WITH EMPLOYEE
Sa PART 5 ng PEP SPECIAL REPORT ON FDCP, may kakaibang kuwento ang mga dumulog sa PEP.
Pinagalitan daw ni Liza ang isang empleyado ng FDCP dahil inungkat nito ang appointment paper ni Tirso bilang bagong chair.
Sa wakas nga raw ay dumating na ang appointment papers ni Tirso, na bumagsak sa opisina ng FDCP.
Pero dahil nakaupo pa rin sa puwesto si Liza, hindi malaman ng mga empleyado kung sino na ang chair na susundin.
Sa salaysay ng industry insiders sa PEP, minabuti ng isang FDCP employee, na may 35 taong serbisyo sa gobyerno, na tanungin si Liza tungkol sa isyu.
Pero nang sinabi raw ng employee na naberipika nang si Tirso ang chair, inakusahan daw ito ni Liza ng "insubordination."
Ayon pa sa insiders, matapos ng insidente, ang pakiramdam daw ng veteran government employee ay "na-bully" siya ni Liza.
Anila, ang intensiyon ng empleyado ay siguruhin kung sino na ang accountable sa mga nakabinbing FDCP checks na nangangailangan ng pirma ng kung sinuman ang lehitimong chair.
Kung hindi raw kasi ginawa iyon ng empleyado, ito rin ang mapuputukan kung may mali sa signatory.
READ: #FDCPISSUE NO.5: Did Liza Diño attempt to delay Tirso Cruz III's assumption of office?
LIZA ON HER SUPPOSED THREE-YEAR REAPPOINTMENT
Sa pagpapatuloy ng panayam ng PEP kay Liza, inamin nitong inaasahan talaga niyang magpapatuloy ang kanyang pamamahala sa FDCP.
Kahit pa nagpalit na ng bagong administrasyon, at kahit naglabas na ng Memorandum Circular (MC)1 ang bagong nakaupo sa Malacañang para sa outgoing appointed officials.
Pinanghawakan daw kasi ni Liza ang reappointment niya bilang FDCP chair ng administrasyon ng noo'y Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte.
"Yes, of course. I was vocal about that," saad ni Liza patungkol sa panunungkulan ng tatlong taon pa bilang chair matapos maupo sa puwesto ng anim na taon.
"I think these are all public records. I was handed my reappointment paper in March [2022] and had my Oath Taking with the DTI Secretary."
READ: Liza Diño, reappointed bilang FDCP chairperson; balikan pa kaya ang pag-arte?
LIZA: NOT READY FOR TRANSITION, BUT ACCEPTED PRESIDENT'S DECISION
Hindi raw talaga napaghandaan ni Liza ang pagkakaroon noon ng smooth transition sa pagitan niya at ni Tirso.
Ang veteran actor ang itinalagang FDCP chair ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Ang focus daw ni Liza noon ay: "The agency was preparing for the next three years under my leadership because I was reappointed."
Pero diin ni Liza, tanggap niyang kinailangan niyang bumaba sa puwesto.
Aniya (published as is): "I was saddened when I learned that I was being replaced because I was looking forward to presenting the plans and directions of the Agency under the new administration.
"I didn’t get the chance, but respected the President’s decision all the same."
FDCP IS NOT A REGULATORY "AGENCY," SAY TITO SOTTO AND QC COURT
Sa e-mail ni Liza sa PEP, ginamit nito ang salitang "Agency" sa pagtukoy sa FDCP, bagamat naging issue na ito sa kanila ni former Senate President Tito Sotto.
Bilang principal author ng Republic Act na nag-create ng Film Development Council of the Philippines, itinuwid ni Sotto na hindi agency kundi council ang FDCP.
Sa R.A. 9167, o ang batas na bumuo sa FDCP noong 2002, nakasaad ngang ang FDCP ay isang "Council."
Sabi sa Section 2: "To carry out the provisions of this Act, there is hereby created a Film Development Council of the Philippines, hereinafter referred to as the Council, under the Office of the President."
Walang nakasaad na ito ay isang "Agency." Iba ang "Agency" dahil maaari itong magkaroon ng regulatory powers.
Ito ang dahilan kung bakit noong July 2020 ay ipina-suspend ni Sotto kay Liza ang gusto nitong ipatupad na Joint Administrative Order (JAO) o "post-ECQ protocols" para sa buong audio-visual industry.
"While the purpose of the subject JAO is for the benefit of the stakeholders, it cannot erase the fact that it is beyond your legal authority," sabi noon ni Sotto.
Dagdag ni Sotto, "As instead of unifying, it divides the industry; instead of letting the industry grow and develop, especially during this pandemic, the JAO pulls it down."
READ: Senator Tito Sotto asks Liza Diño to suspend FDCP's post-ECQ guidelines for movie industry
Ang kawalan din ng regulatory powers ng FDCP ang binanggit na dahilan ng Quezon City court kung bakit "constitutionally invalid" ang gustong ipatupad ng FDCP na Film Screening Rules sa cinema owners noong 2019.
READ: Quezon City court declares FDCP film screening rules "constitutionally invalid"
Base ito sa 2021 decision ni Judge Edgar Dalmacio Santos sa petition ng Cinema Exhibitors Association of The Philippines, Inc. (CEAP) laban sa FDCP.
Sabi rito: "Now, a simple and textual review of the powers and functions of the FDCP under Sec. 3, R.A. 9167 taken in conjuction with the statement of the policy therein would readily show that said law seeks to promote and encourage the production of local quality films to uphold and lift the dignity and nobility of the human spirit so to speak and not to regulate their exhibition...
"Nowhere is it provided therein that the FDCP shall also regulate the exhibition or showing of the films made by the producers as the mandate of the law is limited to the production of quality films for commercial purposes." [Itals ours.]
Ang government agency na may "oversight powers"— o siyang tagapangasiwa sa FDCP— ay ang Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), alinsunod sa Executive Order ni dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte noong January 2022.
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