Senator Francis Pangilinan. (Screen grab/ Senate PRIB, file)
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan will put his support for ABS-CBN into official legislature.
Pangilinan will co-author Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III’s Senate Bill 1967 that will grant the network a 25-year franchise, a legislation that once becomes a law will see the return of ABS-CBN back on the airwaves.
“Sa mga nakalipas na buwan, nakita natin ang kahalagahan ng ABS-CBN lalo na kapag may bagyo o anumang kalamidad. Sa mga ganitong pagkakataon, umaasa ang ating mga kababayan sa radyo at TV para sa mga impormasyon na nakakaligtas ng buhay at kabuhayan,” said Pangilinan.
(We saw in the past few months how important ABS-CBN is whenever there’s a natural calamity or typhoon. It’s during these instances that our countrymen are relying on radio and TV for the information that would save lives and livelihoods.)
ABS-CBN has the largest reach in terms of network exposure with its regional stations relaying information on the ground immediately during times of calamities.
Newscasts are also delivered in the local dialect giving a natural context in their broadcasts.
Pangilinan said that a part why the pandemic is still largely spreading across the provinces is due to the lack of network that gives accurate factual stories that would help people make a sound decision—a problem that he sees the return of ABS-CBN can fix.
It’s already been months that thousands of employees lost their jobs due to the ABS-CBN shutdown and the return of the network would also mean a return to their old jobs.
“Magandang balita ito hindi lang sa 11,000 empleyado ng ABS-CBN na nawalan ng trabaho nang ipagkait ang franchise. Magandang balita rin ito sa buong bansang uhaw na uhaw sa tamang impormasyon,” said Pangilinan.
(This is great news not only for the 11,000 employees of ABS-CBN who’ve lost their jobs when the franchise was denied. This is also good news for the whole country who are thirsty for the right information.)
The House Committee on Legislative Franchises voted 70-11 to deny ABS-CBN a 25-year franchise renewal in what critics saw was a petty attempt to appease President Rodrigo Duterte who aired his personal grudge against the network.
This isn’t the first time that Pangilinan co-authored a legislative bill that supported ABS-CBN.
Pangilinan co-authored Senate Bill 1521 in 2019 that sought to grant provisional franchise to ABS-CBN until June 30, 2022 with co-sponsors including Senators Sonny Angara, Ma. Lourdes Nancy Binay, Pia Cayetano, Franklin Drilon, Win Gatchalian, Leila De Lima, Risa Hontiveros, Manuel Lapid, Emmanuel Pacquiao, Ralph Recto, Joel Villanueva, and Juan Miguel Zubiri.
“Deserve nating lahat ang tamang impormasyon. Ibalik ang trabaho ng mga kawani ng ABS-CBN. Bigyan ng franchise ang ABS-CBN,” said Pangilinan.
(We all deserve the right information. We must give the ABS-CBN personnel their jobs back. Give ABS-CBN a franchise.)