MANILA, Philippines — Senator Nancy Binay has found a “common denominator” between continuing congressional hearings on ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal bid and the investigation into corruption allegations against her father in 2016.
In a Twitter post on Tuesday, Binay threw her support anew for the media giant, whose bid for a fresh 25-year franchise is currently being deliberated in the House of Representatives.
“Been there done that. Sinugatan pero muling bumabangon. Kapit lang Kapamilya,” Binay wrote cryptically on Twitter.
(Been there done that. Wounded but will rise again. Keep holding on, Kapamilya).
Her tweet was accompanied by the hashtags #25hearings, #12hearings, #itsnotaboutus and #commondenominator.
Been there done that. Sinugatan pero muling bumabangon. Kapit lang kapamilya💙❤💚🌚 #25hearings #12hearings #itsnotaboutus #commondenominator pic.twitter.com/ISEuIBsAQ0
— Senator Nancy Binay (@SenatorBinay) July 7, 2020
The first two hashtags were apparently alluding to the 25 Senate panel hearings into the allegations of corruption involving her father former Vice President Jejomar Binay, and the number of hearings so far conducted by the House regarding ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal.
Binay had earlier shared her belief that her family was not fairly treated by the network.
Despite this, the senator said she will vote for the renewal of the network’s franchise because “it’s not about me,” adding that freedom of information and access to information are more important.
Her father had also maintained his support for the network, saying that freedom of the press is the “basic foundation of democracy.”
The House committees on legislative franchises and on good government and public accountability have been hearing the issue on the ABS-CBN franchise.
The previous hearings focused on several controversies concerning ABS-CBN which included the citizenship of the network’s chair emeritus Gabby Lopez, the Lopez family’s reclamation of the network after the EDSA Revolution, the alleged labor violations of the network, and tax-related issues.
On Monday, the joint panel conducted its 12th hearing on the network’s franchise renewal by tackling the broadcast company’s alleged “political bias.”
At the beginning of the hearing, ABS-CBN Head of Integrated News and Current Affairs Ging Reyes said they “strive to keep biases in check, and to report on newsworthy events, persons and issues in an accurate, fair and balanced manner.”
Although she admitted that the media network, like any other, is not perfect, Reyes said ABS-CBN has mechanisms in handling its mistakes and correcting their wrongs.
On June 30, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) ordered ABS-CBN’s subsidiary, SkyCable Corp., to immediately stop its satellite TV service known as SkyDirect, which has over 1.5 million subscribers across the country.
The NTC issued a separate cease-and-desist order to ABS-CBN to immediately stop operating digital TV using Channel 43 on ABS-CBN TV Plus.
Prior to this, ABS-CBN was forced off the air on May 5 after the NTC ordered the shutdown of its radio and television broadcast operations nationwide after the network’s franchise expired.