prior to the completion of arbitration proceedings.
Here is an account of how Geny Lopez had to pass through the eye of a needle to reacquire ABS-CBN, even signing an onerous contract to lease his network’s own equipment, grabbed from them by cronies of a dictator.
Geny sued for time: "I went back and offered to lend [the Broadcast Center] to the government. After 30-60 days we were supposed to get it back. My idea then was to raise capital within 30 days—which I was able to do. Unfortunately after 30 days, the new government did not want to give it back. They had gotten used to using it for PTV-4. It was a good lesson; you should not make deals like that. If it is good, keep it.
Jimmy Navarro said: “That Bohol Avenue lot is a Lopez property. But this Dodie Limcaoco didn't want to give it to us. Jake was so angry. Sometimes it would make Jake angry enough to want to punch a wall.” IBC-13’s top news anchor, Frankie Evangelista, said: “I was at that Mass at the Benpres Building [then known as the Chronicle Building] when Geny came back and announced he would start [ABS-CBN] all over again. So everybody was looking at each other and said I said: ‘Of course.’ So immediately I resigned from IBC-13 and I joined them—the prodigal son.”
Jimmy Navarro said: “We were not really concerned with how much Geny would pay us. No, we were just there working to put back the station on the air.” Jimmy was programming head, and under him were two PMs/creative directors: Ariel Ureta and Frankie Evangelista. Freddie Garcia would wait until the wee hours of the morning for Regal Films matriarch Lily Monteverde so that he could gain her trust enough to partner with ABS-CBN. He was successful through the help of Douglas Quijano.
Jimmy Navarro said: “We were like squatters there. They gave us just a small portion of the building, just the props area. We had to clean it and fix it. But you cannot put a good group down like ABS-CBN.” ABS-CBN's problems with the government were compounded by problems of finance. “In the beginning,” recalled Millie Logarta, “it was hard because we really didn't have any money. In fact, Geny asked me to borrow money from Columbia Pictures or from MCA. I was proposing to them: ‘Lend us some money and we will give you stock in ABS.’ None of them took the bait. In time all of them really regretted that they did not. They did not believe that from nothing we could come back.
To address the financing gap, Geny and Gabby managed to get a loan from Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation , as well as some funds from Fernando Lopez, who owned 45% of the network. As of June 18, 1986, ABS-CBN had P27,831,800 in capital. It was not a lot by the cash-hungry standards of network TV, but it was enough to start with.
Initially, there was a bit of controversy about the revived ABS-CBN hiring staffers from networks once identified with the regime. Frankie had been the top anchor of IBC-13; Noli de Castro came from Benedicto’s radio station dwWW; Mel Tiangco, Ces Drilon, Doris Bigornia, and Korina Sanchez all came from MBS-4. But Geny paid no mind. He cared more about their competence and their fundamental values than any considerations of political correctness.
The new ABS-CBN shows of September 1986, such as “After Lunch,” “Wanbol High; “Dempsey and Makepeace,” “Paper Dolls; “Ina,” “Angkan,” and “InTUXicating,” simply didn’t make much of a dent. Of the initial ABS-CBN prime-time slate, perhaps the only show that local viewers would still remember 20 years later was “Moonlighting,” an ABC show starring Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd. All the rest had faded into oblivion.
But ABS-CBN’s deadliest competitor was its alumnus Freddie Garcia, over at GMA-7. He recalled: “We never gave them a chance to succeed. When they launched the new Channel 2, [GMA-7] launched a lot of new programs which were very successful. The new ABS-CBN was a threat to GMA. We knew the persistence and the vision of Geny. It was just a matter of money, and, when people believe in you, the banks will lend you the money. It was a threat.
In December 1986, Freddie recalled, the call finally came: “Geny called me up for a meeting. We met at the Mandarin Hotel, and he asked me to join him. I said: “I thought you’d never ask. What took you so long? I’ve been waiting.’ It was like being reunited with your parents.” His crew included people like Rolly Cruz, Ruben “Bonbon” Jimenez, Leng Raymundo, Leo Katigbak, and Mariol Alberto. It was clear that transferring to ABS-CBN meant taking a lot of risk.bakit pa tayo lilipat sa banig
As a result of Freddie's hiring, Ben Aniceto resigned, although Geny wanted to retain him in another post. Of Aniceto’s original creative team, Jimmy Navarro was retained as programming head, Ariel Ureta left and began to work for Viva Films, and Frankie Evangelista let go of his PM duties to focus on news.
Geny handed over the reins even though Freddie transferred to ABS-CBN with less in his programming arsenal than he had initially counted on having. Freddie said: “When I transferred to Channel 2, Tina Palma, Inday, Badiday, German Moreno were supposed to have joined me. These were the pillars of the industry. Only to say later on that they were not joining me. They had so many reasons.
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