The House of Representatives will not act on bills seeking to renew the franchise of major television network ABS-CBN until the year ends, a lawmaker said Wednesday.
House Committee on Legislative Franchises Chairman Franz Alvarez told CNN Philippines on Wednesday that his panel has no scheduled hearings until Congress adjourns for the Christmas break on December 20.
This is contrary to the statement of House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano in October that a House panel will tackle the renewal by yearend.
All franchise bills must first be approved by the House before they go to the Senate. ABS-CBN's franchise will expire on March 30, 2020 unless Congress and the President approve a new one. Five bills have been filed to extend the franchise for another 25 years.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said he will personally make sure the TV network will be out of business when its license to operate expires.
"Ang inyong franchise mag-end next year [Your franchise will end next year]. If you are expecting na ma-renew 'yan [a renewal], I'm sorry. You're out. I will see to it that you're out," said Duterte in a speech.
The President has repeatedly slammed the network since 2018 for supposedly failing to air his presidential campaign advertisements in 2016.
ABS-CBN would be forced to shut down its broadcast operations if it fails to secure a fresh 25-year franchise from Congress, which is currently dominated by Duterte’s allies.
The TV network, one of the largest in the country, had 6,730 regular employees, 900 non-regular employees and 3,325 talents at the end of 2018, according to its report to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Philippine Stock Exchange.
CNN Philippines correspondent Xianne Arcangel contributed to the report.
https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2019/12/4/ABS-CBN-franchise-renewal-House-bill.html
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