Media giant ABS-CBN should have apologized long before, President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman said on Monday.

In a press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the Palace welcomed the apology made by ABS-CBN Corp president and chief executive officer Carlo Katigbak to Duterte if they offended him.

“I’m glad, finally, ABS-CBN has submitted its shortcomings to the President; that should have been done long before,” he said.

Katigbak said sorry to Duterte during a Senate investigation regarding the alleged violations of the Lopez-owned company on its franchise on Monday.

“We were sorry if we offended the President. That was not the intention of the network. We felt that we were just abiding by the laws and regulations that surround the airing of political ads,” Katigbak said.

He was referring to the failure of ABS-CBN to air Duterte’s campaign advertisement in the 2016 elections, while airing an ad paid by former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, a staunch critic of the President, supposedly maligning the latter.

Katigbak said that ABS-CBN refunded Duterte’s camp P4 million from the supposed P7-million worth of local ads.

He admitted that there was a delay in reimbursing the remaining amount. But Duterte reportedly did not accept anymore the remaining P2.6 million in ad money.

Panelo earlier denied that the Palace has a hand in the quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida to revoke ABS-CBN’s franchise.

The administration-led House of Representatives has also refused to hear yet ABS-CBN’s petition to renew its franchise, which will expire on March 30.

With the apology of ABS-CBN executive, asked if Duterte would change his heart towards his position against the television network, Panelo said, “That’s for him, it’s personal to him.” Celerina Monte/DMS