Lagman to Cayetano: I never blamed House on ABS-CBN franchise

MANILA, Philippines — Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman on Saturday said he did not blame the House of Representatives as a whole for failing to act on the legislative franchise renewal of media giant ABS-CBN.

Lagman, in a statement, added that he only “directly faulted” House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and the House leadership.

“Contrary to the baseless tirades, albeit obliquely, against me by Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, I never blamed the House of Representatives for failing to act on the bills seeking the renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise,” Lagman said.

“I directly faulted Cayetano himself and the House leadership for not shepherding the seasonable consideration and action on the subject bills and for unduly stalling their consideration until the network’s franchise expired on May 4, 2020,” he added.

Previously, Lagman said Cayetano “must not wash his hands and absolve himself of blame” over ABS-CBN’s shutdown.

The Albay representative added that almost a hundred of his colleagues have co-authored House Resolution No. 639 filed Jan. 6, which urged the House legislative franchise committee to act on the media giant’s franchise.

Although not naming names, Cayetano previously took a jab at House critics for questioning the lower chamber’s actions to act on the franchise issue.

“Some of my colleagues, some lang po ito. Yes, this bill is important. No question about that. But is it so important that you would lose all sense of objectivity and propriety?” Cayetano said in a speech.

“Shame on you for insulting your own House and calling your colleagues inutile, despite having passed the 2020 General Appropriations Act, the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act, Postponing the May 2020 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections,” he added.

Answering this tirade, Lagman said that he did not belittle the accomplishments of the House.

“What I said was that before and after the approval of these priority measures, the House leadership had sufficient time to deliberate and act on the franchise renewal bills before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

“My press statements are on record and they speak on the verity of my declarations,” he added.

/MUF