Broadcast network ABS-CBN will continue operating even if Congress has not decided on the 11 bills seeking to extend its franchise, which expires on May 4, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said Friday.
He said the quarantine imposed to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to have favored the network.
“It seems that this [quarantine] extension would be to the benefit of ABS-CBN,” Cayetano said.
He said all 11 bills were seeking the renewal of the franchise of the Lopez-owned broadcast company for another 25 years, and those had been sent to the House of Representatives’ committee on legislative franchises.
He said the committee will conduct public hearings where those opposed to the franchise’s renewal would be given a chance to air their views.
The panel, led by Palawan Rep. Franz Alvarez, conducted its first hearing on the 11 bills on March 10.
“There is no intention to close down the company or use its present predicament for that purpose,” Cayetano said.
“That is why the House has instructed the NTC [National Telecommunications Commission] that the network’s broadcasts should continue.”
The House earlier sent a letter to the NTC asking that the network be allowed to continue operating.
The Justice department had also issued a legal opinion that the NTC allow the network to continue broadcasting as long as the House and the Senate did not oppose it.
“The status quo will be maintained. We guarantee the network a fair hearing, and those who have complaints that it is being used as a political tool will be given the chance to air their side,” Cayetano said.
The House has not been meeting regularly owing to the lockdown that the government had imposed to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The chamber has only been conducting limited virtual meetings, and only over the pandemic.