Senate President Vicente Sotto III assured on Saturday that the Upper Chamber will not rush the grant of an extended franchise to ABS-CBN or any other organizations.
In a statement, the Senate leader maintained that they will stick to legislative procedures under the Constitution with regards to giving franchises to public utilities.
He said senators “would not be stampeded into resorting to short-cuts in the performance of their duties.”
“We follow specific procedures in granting franchises. We cannot do away with certain steps to fast-track the process, or else we can be unjustly accused of currying favors to specific parties,” Sotto said.
“We will maintain an unbiased treatment to organizations asking for renewal of their franchise,” he added.
Sotto issued the statement amid claims that the Senate is giving preferential treatment to ABS-CBN amid moves from the government to stop its operations.
The Senate public services committee, led by Senator Grace Poe, last Monday held a hearing into the alleged violations committed by the broadcast network.
In a recent interview, Poe dismissed claims that she was biased towards ABS-CBN whose talents include her mother, veteran actress Susan Roces.
“I am only one of 24 senators. Whatever I say, even if I am for it or against it, if the majority will not side with my opinion, it will not prevail,” Poe told ANC last Wednesday.
She previously promised to wait for the House of Representatives’ transmittal of the network’s franchise renewal as the mandated by the Constitution.
Sotto had also defended Poe’s decision to push through with the hearing, saying it was within her authority as public services committee chair.
“We were elected to serve and protect the interest of our people, not the interest of a few, and we vow to always be faithful to our sworn oaths,” Sotto said on Saturday. (Vanne Elaine P. Terrazola)
http://tempo.com.ph/2020/02/29/sotto-no-rush-in-abs-cbn-franchise-grant/
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