MANILA, Philippines — For the first time since ABS-CBN’s shutdown, the House of Representatives’ committee on legislative franchises, together with the committee on good government and public accountability, convened on Tuesday to tackle bills on the network’s bid for another 25-year franchise.
The hearing is being conducted in a hybrid set-up, with some lawmakers physically present in Batasan Complex in Quezon City while resource speakers and other lawmakers are present through Zoom.
Also in the agenda of the hearing are House Resolution No. 853 filed by Deputy Speaker Paolo Duterte which seeks an inquiry into the “probable” violations of ABS-CBN of its legislative franchise, as well as the show-cause order issued by the committee on legislative franchises to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to explain why it should not be held in contempt.
This is only the second hearing conducted by the House committee on legislative franchises to discuss the matter.
During a meeting in March, not one from ABS-CBN nor from the opposition was invited.
Instead, lawmakers decided to first draft the ground rules for the formal deliberations of the franchise renewal bid of ABS-CBN, which Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano earlier deemed to be necessary so as not to downgrade the hearings into becoming a “circus.”
Cayetano said he wants the hearings to be organized, noting that there should be an order in terms of tackling the various issues covering the franchise bill such as the alleged violations of ABS-CBN to its franchise, among others.
The Speaker last week made a surprise announcement that the lower chamber would proceed with the debates for the network’s new 25-year franchise application, instead of granting an interim franchise.
This, after House leaders moved to recall the lower chamber’s second reading approval of House Bill No. 6732 — which grants ABS-CBN a provisional franchise to operate until October 31, 2020 — a move that was seen to have further delayed the network’s possible return on air since its May 5 shutdown.
What happened before
The 11 bills seeking the renewal of franchise of ABS-CBN remain pending before the House committee on legislative franchises, the earliest of which was in June 2014, during the 16th Congress.
While the bills were pending in the lower chamber, Cayetano on numerous occasions gave the assurance that ABS-CBN would not shut down its operations even if its franchises lapses.
House leaders banked on NTC’s pronouncement that it will grant the network a provisional authority to operate while its franchise application is pending before the lower chamber.
On March 10, NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba told members of the House that they will follow the advice of the Department of Justice (DOJ), allowing ABS-CBN to operate while its franchise renewal bid is pending in Congress.
However, on May 5, the NTC issued a cease and desist order against ABS-CBN, directing the network to stop its broadcast operations after its franchise expired on May 4.
The assailed order came two days after Solicitor General Jose Calida issued a warning to NTC against issuing a provisional authority to operate to ABS-CBN.