Possible ABS-CBN provisional franchise better than nothing, Pangilinan says

MANILA, Philippines – The possible approval of ABS-CBN’s provisional franchise, while a band-aid solution, is better than having none at all, according to opposition Senator Francis Pangilinan.

Pangilinan explained on Monday that the network’s labor force and people who rely on ABS-CBN for information and entertainment would benefit most when the House of Representatives passes House Bill No. 6732, authored by Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano.

However, similar to those who want ABS-CBN’s free television and radio broadcasts back after it was shut down, he warned that the network giant may be held hostage as the franchise would only last until October 31, 2020.

“OK na rin, lalong-lalo na sa 11,000 empleyado ng ABS-CBN at sa milyon-milyong mga kapamilya na nanonood dito at nakakatanggap ng balita sa panahon ng pandemya. May pansamantalang lunas na Band-Aid,” Pangilinan said in a statement.

(It’s okay, especially for more than 11,000 employees of ABS-CBN and millions and millions of people who watch their shows and receive news amid the COVID-19 pandemic.  There’s a temporary band-aid solution.)

“Pero parang asong nakagapos sa leeg ang kumpanya. Hihilahin lang nang mahigpit at hindi na maaaring tumahol at sa halip ay hihiyaw sa hapdi,” he noted.

(But the company is like a dog on a leash, which will be pulled tight until it loses the ability to bark and instead just howl in pain.)

Earlier, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) secretary general Renato Reyes echoed the same sentiments, implying that the uncertainty of such franchise might be used to control ABS-CBN’s news coverage.

Similar to Reyes, Pangilinan asked why Congress is not exploring the possibility of giving the network a 25-year franchise.

“Bakit 5 buwan lang at hindi 25 years tulad ng lahat ng iba pang nabigyan ng mga prangkisa ng Kongreso?  Hangga’t hindi naaprubahan ang franchise, maituturing pa rin na pag-atake sa media at press freedom at paghamak sa ating demokrasya ang nasabing usapin,” he said.

(Why only five months and not 25 years, like the other franchises provided by the Congress?  Until the franchise is not approved, this can be considered an attack on media and press freedom, and also a trampling of our democracy.)

Last March, when the House of Representatives leadership has decided to refrain from discussing the ABS-CBN franchise issue to give way to the Lenten Season break, Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman expressed the same view –  that ABS-CBN risks becoming a “docile hostage” due to the franchise.

Cayetano’s bill came a week after ABS-CBN was forced to stop operating its broadcast programming due to the cease-and-desist order (CDO) from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

NTC issued the order a day after the network company’s much-discussed franchise expired last May 4.

In a previous interview with ABS-CBN’s AM radio station DZMM, NTC Deputy Commissioner Edgardo Cabarios said that the reason why other media companies were allowed to operate without a franchise was that their franchises’ validity were not questioned, unlike ABS-CBN.

It can be recalled that Solicitor General Jose Calida filed a quo warranto petition last February against ABS-CBN, based on allegations that the company was hiding foreign ownership behind a corporate veil.  However, Cabarios did not explicitly say whether the ‘questions’ stemmed from Calida’s complaint.

ABS-CBN has come under fire from President Rodrigo Duterte and his supporters for its alleged biased coverage of him, and its refusal to air campaign advertisements before the 2016 Presidential elections.  Despite this, Duterte has maintained independence from the issue.

READ: NTC exec admits ABS-CBN shutdown order borne of ‘questions’ on its franchise validity 

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