Remulla: Amcara of Channel 43 is ABS-CBN’s ‘dummy’

MANILA, Philippines — Cavite 7th District Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla has accused Amcara Broadcasting Network, which owns Channel 43, of being a “dummy” of ABS-CBN.

During the House joint panel hearing on the ABS-CBN’s franchise on Thursday, Remulla quizzed  Amcara chairman Rodrigo Carandang on the network’s arrangement with embattled ABS-CBN.

It was learned that while ABS-CBN only has a block-time agreement with Channel 43, it was ABS-CBN that provided equipment, such as transmitters, to Amcara.

Amcara likewise uses the signal of ABS-CBN in its broadcasting, Carandang admitted.

“We have already elicited facts to show na itong (that) Amcara is a moro-moro po, sa nakikita ko (as I see it, a sham), that’s the conclusion I’m drawing from it,” Remulla said.

“Malinaw na (It clearly shows) the dummy relationship between ABS CBN and Amcara is existing without any iota of doubt,” he added.

The lawmaker, in an earlier hearing, also accused ABS-CBN of “engaging in the usufruct of another franchise” by airing its shows on Channel 43.

“Itong block-time arrangement, ito ay palusot lang. Kasi ang nangyayari ay ginagamit pa rin nila yung public frequency to broadcast ABS-CBN content and no amount of commercial arrangement para sila ay makapag-broadcast nang legal,” he said.

However, ABS-CBN chairman Carlo Katigbak explained that “a block-time is not a usufruct.”

“A block-time arrangement is a standard commercial agreement that is quite common in the broadcasting industry. It’s not just ABS-CBN that enters into a block-time arrangement,” Katigbak said in an earlier hearing.

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has ordered ABS-CBN to stop operating digital television transmission through its TV Plus via Channel 43 in Metro Manila.

The agency likewise ordered the media giant to shutdown ABS-CBN subsidiary SkyCable to shutdown its direct broadcast satellite (DBS) service, Sky Direct. [ac]