The House of Representatives on Tuesday decided to stop deliberations on a provisional franchise for ABS-CBN Corp, opting instead to hear bills for a 25-year franchise.
Speaking to the plenary, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said they have decided to forego the provisional franchise- a proposal he led giving ABS-CBN license until October 2020- citing the divisiveness it has brought to the chamber.
"Because of all this divisiveness and after consulting with the members of the House, the political parties, and the regional groups… I, together with the House of Representatives leadership have decided to forego with the provisional franchise, and immediately proceed with the hearings for the full 25-year renewal application of the ABS-CBN franchise," he said.
The proposed provisional franchise was passed on first and second reading on the same day last week, but the House opted to reopen the period of debates and amendments Monday to avoid possible legal questions.
Cayetano said the bills for the ABS-CBN franchise renewal will be tackled by the House Committee on Legislative Franchises.
He said the panel should "immediately and continuously hold hearings until everyone is heard." The chamber is set to go on break on June 5 and will come back when session reopens in the fourth week of July, when the President delivers his State of the Nation Address.
"And after everyone is heard, then we can decide," he said.
In his proposal last week, Cayetano said granting ABS-CBN provisional franchise would allow Congress to focus on response to the coronavirus pandemic and time to thoroughly discuss issues against ABS-CBN.
On Monday, lawmakers raised charges ABS-CBN has already answered in a Senate hearing in February, including tax and labor issues of which government officials have themselves cleared the network.
ABS-CBN's broadcast operations were halted on May 5 on orders of the National Telecommunications Commission, which issued a cease and desist order after the network's franchise lapsed on May 4.
Bills for the renewal of ABS-CBN's broadcast license have been pending for years. Its shutdown puts at risk some 11,000 jobs, with the network's President and CEO Carlo Katigbak telling a Senate hearing earlier Tuesday that it may consider layoffs by August if it remains off the air.
More details to follow.
- report from Rose Carmelle Lacuata, ABS-CBN News
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/19/20/house-drops-abs-cbns-provisional-franchise-to-tackle-bills-for-25-year-license
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