House panel to probe separately Amcara’s block time deal with ABS-CBN

MANILA, Philippines — The House committee on good government and public accountability will look into the relationship of Amcara Broadcasting Network, which owns Channel 43, with ABS-CBN.

The move stemmed from the motion of Cavite 7th District Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla during the House joint panel inquiry on the ABS-CBN’s franchise on Monday.

“I move that we investigate amcara on the committee on good government or the blue ribbon committee together with the National Telecommunication Commission’s testimonies and to go to the bottom of this block time agreement which is refuse to believe is a block time arrangement but a usufruct,” he said during the hearing.

His motion was seconded by Anakalusugan Rep. Mike Defensor, which was ultimately accepted by the committee.

Remulla earlier accused Amcara of being a “dummy” of ABS-CBN, since it was ABS-CBN that provided equipment, such as transmitters, to Amcara, even though it only has a block-time agreement with the broadcast firm.

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.