The House of Representatives’ Committee on Legislative Franchises will begin on March 10 its deliberations on 11 bills seeking the renewal of the franchise to operate broadcast network ABS-CBN, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano announced Wednesday.
That date leaves lawmakers just one full day to tackle the issue before the House adjourns for the third time for the First Regular Session of the 18th Congress on March 11.
At a news conference with several House leaders and Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, Cayetano said the panel, headed by Palawan Rep. Franz Alvarez, would conduct the hearing on the measures.
It would have three items on its agenda: Alvarez’s opening statement; setting the ground rules for the discussion; and the instructions to the National Telecommunications Commission.
“We will hold the first meeting. There are three reasons: One: to announce all pro- and anti- [renewal of ABS-CBN franchise]. Two, to make it clear to the NTC that the bills on the renewal of franchise of the broadcast network that is pending at the committee is being heard, and that the committee is hearing on these bills and so its operations will not be shut off,” Cayetano said.
This developed as the Senate on Wednesday adopted a resolution “expressing the sense of the Senate” to allow media giant ABS-CBN Corp. and its subsidiaries to operate beyond the expiration of its franchise on May 4, 2020—the day when Congress resumes its session.
Senate Resolution 6, filed by Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Feb. 26, expresses the sense of the Senate that ABS-CBN “should continue to operate pending final determination of the renewal of its franchise by the 18th Congress.”
The resolution, in consideration with Senate Resolutions 7, 8 and 344 filed by “almost all” senators, was adopted without any objection from among those present in plenary.
The resolution can be used as basis by the National Telecommunications Commission to grant ABS-CBN a provisional authority to continue its broadcast operations after the franchise expires.
While the resolution tells the NTC “to allow” ABS-CBN Corp and its 2 sister companies, ABS-CBN Convergence and SkyCable, to operate while Congress is deliberating on the companies’ franchise renewal bids, Drilon emphasized that it does not effectively extend the companies’ franchises.
“We are not extending the franchise. We are just reiterating what happened in the past where NTC allowed others to operate even if their franchise was expired,” he said.
Cayetano said that during the first House meeting, officials of the ABS-CBN and its management will not be invited yet as the committee will have to lay the ground rules first. “We do not want it to be a circus. We do not want the hearing to be a bull session.”
He said the next hearing will be scheduled either in May or when the second regular session of the 18th Congress opens in July where the ABS-CBN management’s side will be heard.
Cayetano stressed inviting both those for and against the ABS-CBN franchise renewal in one hearing would only result to a “word war.”
Last month, Alvarez’s panel urged parties concerned to submit position papers for or against the renewal of the ABS-CBN franchise. The ABS-CBN Corporation’s franchise to operate will expire on May 4.
Meanwhile, labor group Defend Jobs Philippines on Wednesday urged the House to hasten its hearing on ABS-CBN’s renewal.
“If the Congress was able to railroad and fast-track bills which it considers priorities, then House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano must exceed extra efforts to pass the bill seeking renewal of the legislative franchise bill of ABS-CBN before the scheduled House session break on March 12,” said DJP spokesperson Thadeus Ifurung.
DJP urged the House leadership to resort to all legal remedies and processes on how to grant a fresh 25-year new legislative franchise for the media network for the benefit of its 11,000 workers.
It stated that Cayetano must have the political will to approve the legislative franchise of ABS-CBN as “the time is ticking fast” for Congress to act on the pending bills in their chamber.
In the previous hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Services, chaired by Senator Grace Poe, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra proposed that Congress should allow, through a resolution, NTC to issue a provisional authority to operate to ABS-CBN Corp.
During interpellation and period of amendments, Drilon agreed that his concurrent resolution be made a simple resolution since the same does not have “the force and effect of the law.”
“It only formally conveys the sense of the Senate about extending the franchise and does not need the signature of the President,” Drilon said, replying to the prodding of Senator Aquilino Pimentel III to lay down the legal basis for the resolution.
Asked by Senator Francis Tolentino as to how it would affect the quo warranto petition filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida, Drilon said the matter before the Supreme Court was separate from the resolution to be adopted by the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said there was no reason for NTC not to issue a provisional authority for ABS-CBN as it has been “standard practice” to let broadcast networks operate while their franchise bills are still pending in Congress.