ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs on Tuesday strongly denied Manny Pacquiao’s claim that it aired the announcement of his “network transfer” without his consent.

“We are surprised by Manny Pacquiao's statement that ABS-CBN News broke a supposed embargo,” said ABS-CBN News in a statement.

ABS-CBN News clarified that the boxer recorded two statements regarding his decision to transfer to ABS-CBN--one was on March 14 and the other was on March 17.

“On March 14, Manny Pacquiao recorded a statement that he asked be embargoed. That statement has never aired. On March 17, he recorded another statement saying that he came to ABS-CBN to air his next fights. He later approved that statement for airing,” said ABS-CBN News.

ABS-CBN News said it was the March 17 footage that was aired on Wednesday, March 18.

It added that Pacquiao also made subsequent interviews on March 19 and March 20 where he requested his supporters to watch his May 2 fight on ABS-CBN.

“On March 19, in an interview while training, he asked viewers to support him and watch his fight on ABS-CBN. On March 20, Pacquiao again declared in an ABS-CBN interview that ‘my decision [is] still the same. Fight mapapanood sa ABS-CBN,’” ABS-CBN News said.

ABS-CBN News said it decided to issue a statement to stress that it values respect for its news sources.

“We respond because this charge strikes at our core values as a news organization: honest reporting and respect for our sources,” it said.

“Regardless, we continue to report on Manny Pacquiao's activities and respect his decision to enter into any arrangement with any company regarding his fights,” ABS-CBN added.

Pacquiao’s claim

Pacquiao said on Monday in a telephone interview that his recorded statements should not have been aired,

“Saka ipapalabas yung mga videos na yan na kinunan namin kung may breach of contract talaga na mapatunayan,” he said. Portions of the phone patch were aired on GMA-7’s “Saksi.”

The press conference was organized by GMA-7 and Solar Entertainment Corp.

Pacquiao also said: “Siguro mali yung naging desisyon ko nun na padalos-dalos ako. Pero I mean ako naman ay talagang inaamin na nagkamali dun sa ginawa ko.”

He added: “At yung mga statement na iyon actually hindi naman ako ang gumawa nun, ang gumawa nun yung abogado rin ng ABS eh. Sila ang nagturo sa akin, sila ang may idea nun na ganon ko ang sasabihin ko.”

Following Pacquiao’s announcement of his move to ABS-CBN, Solar made known its plans to sue Pacquiao and ABS-CBN because its contract with Pacquiao is still binding.

Solar officials flew to the US to meet with Pacquiao over the weekend. “The Pacman” then announced that his contract with Solar is valid and binding, and chose to remain with Solar.

In response to this, ABS-CBN had said: "Manny Pacquiao approached ABS-CBN to be his media partner in airing his next fights. We thank him for trusting us. He signed a contract with us, but we will not stand in the way if he decides to change his mind. We respect it, wish him good luck and we wait to hear from him."

abs-cbnNEWS.com is the online news department of ABS-CBN Interactive Inc., a subsidiary of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp.