Panelo: ABS-CBN franchise renewal depends on Congress, not President Duterte

Halos walong buwan na lang ang nalalabi bago mapaso ang franchise to broadcast ng ABS-CBN, pero wala pang kasiguraduhan kung mari-renew ba ito o hindi.

Sa March 20, 2020 mag-e-expire ang 25-year legislative franchise ng broadcast giant.

Sa kanyang regular press briefing sa Malacañang ngayong araw, July 18, natanong tungkol dito si Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo.

Nataon kasing ngayong araw ay nag-lapse into law ang 25-year franchise renewal ng TV5.

Hindi napirmahan ng Pangulo ang nasabing panukala na aprubado na ng Kongreso kaya automatic na itong batas at makapagpapatuloy pa ang TV5 sa kanilang broadcast.

Kasabay ring nag-lapse into law ang bill na nagpapalawig sa franchise ng Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines o CBCP.

Sagot ni Panelo sa tanong tungkol sa franchise renewal ng ABS-CBN, “Ang ABS-CBN, ang expiration niyan ay sa ano pa, di ba, next year pa.

“'Tsaka Congress naman ang… Nasa Kongreso ang bola niyan, hindi naman kay Presidente.”

Hindi umusad sa nakaraang 17th Congress ang House Bill 4349 na naglalayong muling mabigyan ng prangkisa ang TV at radio giant sa susunod na 25 taon.

Hindi raw maaksiyunan ng Committee on Legislative Franchises ang bill na naipasa pa noong November 2016 dahil sa sigalot ng ABS-CBN at ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte.

Nagbanta ang Presidente na haharangin niya ang franchise renewal dahil nagantso diumano siya ng istasyon matapos hindi iere ang kanyang political ad noong 2016 Presidential Elections kahit bayad na ito.

Kailangang may mag-file ng bagong bill o mag-refile ng dating bill sa 18th Congress na magbubukas sa July 22, upang muling matalakay ang tungkol sa franchise renewal ng ABS-CBN.

Ang rival network ng ABS-CBN na GMA Network ay naaprubahan na ang franchise renewal na tatagal sa susunod na 25 taon noon pang April 2017.

https://www.pep.ph/news/144672/panelo-abs-cbn-franchise-renewal-congress-duterte-a718-20190718

Andanar: Duterte won’t veto ABS-CBN new franchise if it hurdles Congress

President Rodrigo Duterte will not veto the franchise renewal of television network ABS-CBN once it hurdles past Congress, a Palace official said Monday.

“Sa palagay ko naman kapag pumasa na sa Kongreso, okay na. Kapag pumasa sa Kongreso, kasi nasa Kongreso pa eh nasa kanila ang bola sa ngayon. ‘Yun ang palagay ko,” Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said in an interview over dzBB.

Andanar also claimed that he has never heard Duterte “categorically stated” that he will block the franchise extension of ABS-CBN.

“Never ko pa narinig kay Presidente na sinabi niya categorically na ‘ieextend ng franchise.’ Alam ko sinasabi niya lang ‘yung sama ng loob niya during 2016 elections, na naglagay siya ng pera hindi lumabas yung advertisements. Doon siya nagagalit,” he said.

Duterte has publicly announced that he will veto the franchise extension of the television giant after accusing the network of not airing his campaign advertisement that was already paid during the 2016 presidential elections.

He has also repeatedly criticized ABS-CBN for the network’s alleged biased reporting, including his supposed ill-gotten wealth and his controversial war on illegal drugs.

ABS-CBN’s franchise will expire on March 30, 2020, and its renewal remains pending in Congress.

Amid the President’s threat, ABS-CBN accelerated spending across a range of digital initiatives. /jpv

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1144555/andanar-duterte-wont-veto-abs-cbn-new-franchise-if-it-hurdles-congress

IRR signed for law on Dept of Human Settlements

THE country’s worsening problem of homelessness and lack of access to shelter opportunities is envisioned to soon be addressed by the government, with the signing on Friday of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for Republic Act (RA) 11201, or the “Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Act.”

At a news conference on the sidelines of the signing, Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Chairman Eduardo D. del Rosario said the measure will enable the estimated 81 percent of Filipinos —especially the unserved and underprivileged citizens—to be provided housing opportunities.

“This [the Act] was signed on February 14, the day of the heart, because of President Duterte’s love for the Filipino family. This is the President’s whole-hearted gift to 81 percent of Filipino families who wish to have a dream house of their own,” del Rosario said.

The IRR consolidates the functions of the HUDCC with the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) under the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD), which was created by RA 11201 to manage housing, human settlements, as well as urban developments in the country.

“Since 1986, HUDCC and key shelter agencies, through the government’s shelter delivery system under Executive Order 19 fell short in addressing the country’s housing needs that is estimated to reach 6.57 million by 2022. And if not appropriately addressed, [it] will balloon to 22.6 million by 2040,” he added.

The IRR takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in two newspapers of general circulation, with the full implementation slated on January 1, 2020, following a transition period of about five months from the effectivity of the IRR.

“But HUDCC and the shelter agencies may not solely be blamed for the mounting housing needs and urban development problems,” del Rosario said. “Year in and year out the housing sector clamored for a bigger housing budget but unfortunately the housing sector technically received an average of only less than 1 percent of the country’s annual budget. But today, recognizing the need for structural changes and additional mandates, the country’s housing and urban landscape is up to a major transformation,” he said.

The transition period will allow the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to approve new organizational structures and positions, and provide time for the transfer of personnel and assets, closing and opening of accounts, and the establishment of regional offices.

The new organizational structures is being eyed to be completed in September this year, according to del Rosario.

RA 11201 was passed in Congress on November 12, 2018, and signed into law by President Duterte on February 14 this year. The functions of the DHSUD involve policy-making, regulatory, as well as monitoring of the environmental land use, and urban planning and development; housing and real-estate development; and homeowners associations and community development.

The newly created government agency is tasked to identify government lands suitable for housing, as well as urban and rural development projects. The identification of government lands is to be undertaken jointly with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), as well as the Land Registration Authority (LRA).

The law also reconstitutes HLURB into an independent quasi-judicial body called the Human Settlements Adjudication Commission, with the HSAC performing the HLURB’s adjudicatory functions over controversies involving real-estate development and sales to expedite the resolution of these cases.

The law also provides for a National Human Settlements Board (NHSB) to exercise policy-making powers over corporations attached to the DHSUD.

The regional offices set up by the DHSUD shall be a regional housing one-stop processing center that aims to streamline the processing of housing-related permits, clearances and licenses.

The DHSUD is also instructed to manage and oversee emergency post-disaster and shelter recovery, as well as climate- change adaptation and mitigation risk reduction interventions.

The IRR was signed by HUDCC Chairman Del Rosario, HLURB CEO Lloyd Christopher Lao, CSC Chairman Alicia dela Rosa-Bala, and DBM OIC Acting Secretary Janet B. Abuel. According to the IRR, the HUDCC chairman shall oversee the operations of the DHSUD until a department secretary is appointed by President Duterte and has assumed office.

Sen. Christopher Lawrence T. Go said in his opening remarks that he has already submitted the National Housing Development, Production and Financing bill in the Senate as one of his top bills, to make the dream of housing for every Filipino come true. He noted a 7-million housing backlog in the Philippines.

“I shall work hard to ensure that all initiatives, policies and plans of the President related to planning will have the optimum support of the Senate especially when it comes to the budget…. Naniniwala ako na dapat wala nang squatter dito sa ating bayan at wala nang pamilyang walang bahay [I believe there should be no squatter in our land, and no family should be homeless],” Go said.

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2019/07/22/irr-signed-for-law-on-dept-of-human-settlements/