Cavite 7th District Rep. Boying Remulla and Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor attend the ABS-CBN franchise hearing in Congress on July 1, 2020. George Calvelo, ABS-CBN News
MANILA — Anakalusugan Rep. Mike Defensor, who voted in favor of a report junking ABS-CBN's bid for a new franchise, said Tuesday he had "no problem" with his daughter opposing his stand on the network.
Defensor's daughter Mikee, as quoted by the Inquirer, said on Twitter that her father "must be held accountable for his actions" and that it was "unfair" for people to presume that they had the same views.
"At the end of the day, I'm not the one in Congress. And more importantly, I am NOT my father. My heart goes out to those who are greatly affected by this, most especially the 11,000 workers who have lost their jobs in the middle of a pandemic," she added.
Defensor said his daughter asked for his permission before posting and that he told her, "Yes, no problem."
"It's just now that I’ve been telling her na, "Mikee, you have to be careful because some people are using it as a narrative as if you are fighting me or they are creating a problem between father and daughter and I think we both understand that,'" he told ANC.
Defensor said he allows dissent and debate among his friends and family, and "encourage them to be involved and to understand the issues."
"I have no problem with that. Ayoko lang siyang pumasok doon sa usapin na nagagamit siya (I just don’t want her to join issues where she is being used). She should try to avoid that because this is really—what is coming out is very dirty," the lawmaker added.
Defensor said his house was "attacked" recently by a noise barrage.
He said his family was "not used to that" and he told them to "calm down."
"I'm also asking our people, we made a decision based on our duties and the report is there, we've posted it and you can see the basis of our decision," he said.
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