MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Thursday cautioned the Senate panel tasked to handle ABS-CBN’s provisional franchise bills as he asked that care be taken in the deliberation of the measures to avoid any future legal questions.
Sotto issued the warning as Senator Sherwin Gatchalian is set to lead a public services committee hearing to tackle bills seeking to grant ABS-CBN a provisional franchise.
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives approved on second reading a bill granting ABS-CBN a provisional franchise valid until October 31, 2020.
Franchise bills must first be approved by the House before it can be transmitted to the Senate for consideration.
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri earlier said the chamber may pass ABS-CBN’s provisional franchise before the sine die adjournment of Congress in the first week of June.
“Ang medyo kailangan lang ayusin, sapagkat may mga, alam mo naman, may mga kumokontra hindi ba? May kontrobersiya. Kailangan nyan ang kilos namin ay eka nga tama ang hakbang. At sapagkat kung nabutasan yan, meron dahilan para tirahin,” Sotto said in an interview on TeleRadyo.
“Baka mamaya pag dumating sa executive department (yung bill), baka sabihin ‘E bakit ganito?’ Binigyan mo ng butas,” he added.
The Senate has yet to receive an official transmission from the House. The lower chamber of Congress is poised to pass the said measure on third and final reading on Monday next week.
“Tatawagan ko rin si Sherwin ‘Medyo mag-ingat ka baka may butas na makita kung sino sino diyan’…Kakausapn ko muna…Teka muna, hinay-hinay ka. Yung Senate Bill ang ihi-hearing mo pagnag-hearing ka. E ‘pag mag-rereport out ka ang ire-report out mo yung House Bill, ‘di ba? E hindi pa umaakyat sa ‘tin,” Sotto went on.
Senate Bills 981 and 1521, which seek to renew ABS-CBN’s franchise for another 25 years and grant the network a provisional franchise valid until June 2022, respectively, have been referred to the Senate public services committee shortly after the House approved its version of ABS-CBN’s provisional franchise bill.
Gatchalian, who was designated to lead the hearing on the bills, earlier said he would immediately open the hearing on the said bills “even if it falls on a Sunday without prejudice to the formal transmission of the House of Representatives this coming Monday.”