ABS-CBN’s case ‘unique’; standards of legislative franchise won’t change – Lacson

MANILA, Philippines — For Senator Panfilo Lacson, the standards for granting legislative franchises will not change and that the decision of the House of Representatives to reject ABS-CBN Corp.’s application for a fresh franchise is “unique.”

But he also said the “body language” of President Rodrigo Duterte “was obvious enough for the House leadership and allies not to read and interpret the way they voted” on Friday, July 10, when 70 members of the House legislative franchises decided to kill the application of ABS-CBN for a new 25-year congressional license to operate.

“I don’t think the standards for the granting of legislative franchises will change. The case of ABS-CBN’s legislative franchise application is ‘sui generis’ in a manner of speaking,” Lacson said in a statement.

“The Machiavellian leadership style easily comes to mind, and if I may quote what Niccolo Machiavelli once wrote: ‘I’d rather be feared than loved if I cannot be both.’ Accept it or not, the President’s body language was obvious enough for the House leadership and allies not to read and interpret the way they voted yesterday.”

“All that being said, Machiavellian or not, President Duterte’s leadership style is a class by itself and is proving to be an effective style of leadership,” he added.

Regardless of the House of Representatives move on ABS-CBN’s franchise, “nobody can argue that under the 1987 Constitution, a legislative franchise is up to Congress to grant or not,” Lacson also pointed out.

Lacson, nonetheless, said this message of hope to the media giant: “You fall today, you will rise tomorrow, and that’s for sure. It is as simple as that.”

KGA

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