Thursday, May 28, 2020
Law dean: Marcoleta misinterpreted law on 50-year franchise term
A law dean on Thursday said House Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta had misinterpreted the 50-year cap on legislative franchises that Congress may grant, among arguments he presented at the House of Representatives on Tuesday in opposing broadcast operations of ABS-CBN Corp.
“I was bit surprised, especially the position taken by the good congressman that the franchise cannot be extended for another 50 years. I don’t think that would be the right interpretation of Section 11 of Art. 12 of the Constitution,” said Soledad Mawis, dean of the Lyceum of the Philippines College of Law.
On ANC’s Headstart, Mawis said the 50-year franchise period in the Constitution is the maximum that can be granted by Congress at one time, and there is no law prohibiting a company from being granted an extension or renewal of their franchise.
“Kaya hindi ko masundan 'yung logic lalo na kunwari po is it the spirit of the Constitution to discourage a franchise holder to do better or to be the best so that when it applies for a renewal mabibigyan? Wala naman pong sinasabi doon ang Constitution na hanggang diyan lang 'yan at hindi puwedeng bigyan ng panibagong prangkisa,” she said.
(That's why I cannot follow the logic especially, for instance, is it the spirit of the Constitution to discourage a franchise holder to do better or be the best so that when it applies for a renewal, it can get one? The Constitution does not say that's the end of it and that a new franchise cannot be given.)
Mawis said Marcoleta’s interpretation becomes a disincentive for a company.
If the lawmaker's take would be followed, it means a firm that has been performing well and running operations properly could no longer be given a franchise extension after 50 years.
Several others, even Marcoleta's colleagues in the House, had said the lawmaker's understanding of the 50-year franchise limit was wrong, citing other broadcast firms operating beyond that length of time.
ABS-CBN was forced to halt its broadcast operations on May 5 after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) went back on its commitment to allow ABS-CBN to operate beyond its lapsed franchise.
On Monday, the House committees on legislative franchises and good government and accountability started hearings on bills seeking to give ABS-CBN a fresh broadcast franchise.
The network, which has some 11,000 workers, has asked the Supreme Court to block the NTC's cease-and-desist order. The high court ordered the telecoms body and both chambers of Congress to respond to the ABS-CBN's petition.
The Kapamilya network said it "has not committed any violation" of its franchise that would merit its non-renewal or the suspension of its broadcast operations.
On Thursday's interview, Mawis also questioned claims on ABS-CBN’s alleged violation of balanced and responsible reporting.
“Is it material to the renewal of the franchise? That’s my question. Are they supposed to dictate to us, to you, for example, what to air? Is it also not part of your freedom of speech and expression to air what you think is right or not right? So if we go to the content, that’s very subjective,” she said.
Mawis also questioned the timing of ACT-CIS Rep. Eric Yap's statements raising issues against the network for its reportage on drug allegations against Deputy Speaker Paolo Duterte, the President's son.
“Why just now? Why wait for this time when your company is on the brink of closing? Why not before? It’s political in nature. I’m not saying they cannot raise it now because they can for purposes of deciding the renewal of the franchise. It’s just a question of why now after so many years,” she said, referring to the allegations that surfaced in 2017.
“If, for example, the good congressman Duterte felt that he was slighted at that time, then he could have availed of remedies under the law,” she said.
Mawis also asserted that the shutdown of ABS-CBN is a press freedom issue.
“Hindi ko makuha 'yung line of thinking na OK walang issue naman ng freedom of expression o freedom of the press kasi itong isa puwede naman niyang gawin. Hindi po natin pinag-uusapan 'yung puwedeng gawin nung isa. Ang pinag-uusapan natin bakit itong isa na ito hindi ho niya puwedeng gawin 'yung ginagawa nung iba,” she said.
(I don't get the line of thinking that OK there's no freedom of expression or freedom of the press issue here because another one can do what has been doing. We're not talking about what another one can do. We're talking about why this one can't do what the others are doing.)
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/28/20/law-dean-marcoleta-misinterpreted-law-on-50-year-franchise-term
“I was bit surprised, especially the position taken by the good congressman that the franchise cannot be extended for another 50 years. I don’t think that would be the right interpretation of Section 11 of Art. 12 of the Constitution,” said Soledad Mawis, dean of the Lyceum of the Philippines College of Law.
On ANC’s Headstart, Mawis said the 50-year franchise period in the Constitution is the maximum that can be granted by Congress at one time, and there is no law prohibiting a company from being granted an extension or renewal of their franchise.
“Kaya hindi ko masundan 'yung logic lalo na kunwari po is it the spirit of the Constitution to discourage a franchise holder to do better or to be the best so that when it applies for a renewal mabibigyan? Wala naman pong sinasabi doon ang Constitution na hanggang diyan lang 'yan at hindi puwedeng bigyan ng panibagong prangkisa,” she said.
(That's why I cannot follow the logic especially, for instance, is it the spirit of the Constitution to discourage a franchise holder to do better or be the best so that when it applies for a renewal, it can get one? The Constitution does not say that's the end of it and that a new franchise cannot be given.)
Mawis said Marcoleta’s interpretation becomes a disincentive for a company.
If the lawmaker's take would be followed, it means a firm that has been performing well and running operations properly could no longer be given a franchise extension after 50 years.
Several others, even Marcoleta's colleagues in the House, had said the lawmaker's understanding of the 50-year franchise limit was wrong, citing other broadcast firms operating beyond that length of time.
ABS-CBN was forced to halt its broadcast operations on May 5 after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) went back on its commitment to allow ABS-CBN to operate beyond its lapsed franchise.
On Monday, the House committees on legislative franchises and good government and accountability started hearings on bills seeking to give ABS-CBN a fresh broadcast franchise.
The network, which has some 11,000 workers, has asked the Supreme Court to block the NTC's cease-and-desist order. The high court ordered the telecoms body and both chambers of Congress to respond to the ABS-CBN's petition.
The Kapamilya network said it "has not committed any violation" of its franchise that would merit its non-renewal or the suspension of its broadcast operations.
On Thursday's interview, Mawis also questioned claims on ABS-CBN’s alleged violation of balanced and responsible reporting.
“Is it material to the renewal of the franchise? That’s my question. Are they supposed to dictate to us, to you, for example, what to air? Is it also not part of your freedom of speech and expression to air what you think is right or not right? So if we go to the content, that’s very subjective,” she said.
Mawis also questioned the timing of ACT-CIS Rep. Eric Yap's statements raising issues against the network for its reportage on drug allegations against Deputy Speaker Paolo Duterte, the President's son.
“Why just now? Why wait for this time when your company is on the brink of closing? Why not before? It’s political in nature. I’m not saying they cannot raise it now because they can for purposes of deciding the renewal of the franchise. It’s just a question of why now after so many years,” she said, referring to the allegations that surfaced in 2017.
“If, for example, the good congressman Duterte felt that he was slighted at that time, then he could have availed of remedies under the law,” she said.
Mawis also asserted that the shutdown of ABS-CBN is a press freedom issue.
“Hindi ko makuha 'yung line of thinking na OK walang issue naman ng freedom of expression o freedom of the press kasi itong isa puwede naman niyang gawin. Hindi po natin pinag-uusapan 'yung puwedeng gawin nung isa. Ang pinag-uusapan natin bakit itong isa na ito hindi ho niya puwedeng gawin 'yung ginagawa nung iba,” she said.
(I don't get the line of thinking that OK there's no freedom of expression or freedom of the press issue here because another one can do what has been doing. We're not talking about what another one can do. We're talking about why this one can't do what the others are doing.)
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/28/20/law-dean-marcoleta-misinterpreted-law-on-50-year-franchise-term
Philippines to start transition to online census this September
The Philippines will partly transition to an online system for conducting national census this year as the coronavirus pandemic forced it to push back the timetable to September, the government’s main statistics agency said on Wednesday.
The census of population, held every five years, was originally set for May.
But with people ordered to hunker down at home for two and half months now – state workers included – a census that previously required having enumerators knock on each household’s door has to take a back seat.
“The online census will be done on a limited scale, meaning we already identified people, specific households,” Deputy National Statistician for Censuses Minerva Eloisa P. Esquivias told CNN Philippines in a zoom interview.
“We have the list already so we will be contacting them via email and provide them access numbers,” she said.
This initial round of online count will cover 2,000 households, mostly from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and agencies working with it, so that they form the pilot group. The statistics agency did not have to procure a third-party systems provider as the national budget had allocated it with funds to strengthen its own IT infrastructure.
With the Philippine population projected to have bloated to 110 million this year from 100.98 million in 2015 when the last census was taken, an initial online coverage of 2,000 households may not count. But it’s a good start.
“We have to do something even in a small scale to start somewhere because we are already on a digital age,” Esquivias said.
Online censuses are becoming a trend, with Southeast Asian peers Indonesia and Malaysia going digital too for its population count this year, she added.
“Probably when we have the next census, we will explore that on a greater scale,” she said
But with most rural households still with no access to internet infrastructure nor a decent desktop at home, a full-blown online census may be distant.
A national ID system could make the transition to online census easier but the law imposes restrictions on the use of data collected via the national ID system.
“The national ID as provided in the law, is just foundational," Esquivias explained. "It provides you the identification of an individual but it cannot be used for other purposes.”
“For us PSA, it’s easier for us to do the census with the national ID database but we cannot do that because of the limitations in the law," she also said. "The privacy and the confidentiality of both the national ID and the census will have to take precedence over all other functional advantages. We cannot do anything that is not allowed by law.”
Results of the census cannot be used for targeting welfare spending or cash aid either.
Controversies hounding the distribution of an P8,000 dole-out for 18 million households affected by COVID-19 earlier prompted lawmakers to call for the quick implementation of the national ID system. The basis for identifying who gets the cash aid was a list made by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) which had a methodology that is totally separate from the PSA’s national census.
“The census data does not provide the name and the address," Esquivias said. "The census law only provides us to disseminate statistical summaries without identification of any individual.”
“The census law is BP [Batas Pambansa] 72 and our Philippine Statistical Act of 2013 so there’s provision on the confidentiality of information," she added, "so in fact, when we talk of SAP [social amelioration program], it’s the list of DSWD not the 2015 census of population.”
In gist, data collected from the census are for statistical purposes only – the results help policymakers decide how to distribute public funds to local communities and where to build new schools, hospitals and public parks.
Pen and paper plus stickers
The rest of the population not covered by the online census for this year will be visited by enumerators – some with pen and paper, others with computer tablets or will just ask for the household’s phone number for a follow-up call if they opt for a phone interview.
The PSA is hiring 120,000 people to do the job.
“One enumeration area would be about 400 households so the enumerator will have to move around covering 400 households within a span of one month,” Esquivias said.
The statistics agency is urging the public to cooperate in the census, giving assurances that the enumerators will be properly equipped with masks and other protective equipment.
With household visits still widely the norm, the census sticker is here to stay.
“We will have stickers to be posted by enumerators because the sticker is a very visible sign that will tell us supervisors in terms of coverage,” Esquivias said. “It’s part of our quality assurance.”
https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/5/27/PSA-hiring-nationwide-population-census.html
The census of population, held every five years, was originally set for May.
But with people ordered to hunker down at home for two and half months now – state workers included – a census that previously required having enumerators knock on each household’s door has to take a back seat.
“The online census will be done on a limited scale, meaning we already identified people, specific households,” Deputy National Statistician for Censuses Minerva Eloisa P. Esquivias told CNN Philippines in a zoom interview.
“We have the list already so we will be contacting them via email and provide them access numbers,” she said.
This initial round of online count will cover 2,000 households, mostly from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and agencies working with it, so that they form the pilot group. The statistics agency did not have to procure a third-party systems provider as the national budget had allocated it with funds to strengthen its own IT infrastructure.
With the Philippine population projected to have bloated to 110 million this year from 100.98 million in 2015 when the last census was taken, an initial online coverage of 2,000 households may not count. But it’s a good start.
“We have to do something even in a small scale to start somewhere because we are already on a digital age,” Esquivias said.
Online censuses are becoming a trend, with Southeast Asian peers Indonesia and Malaysia going digital too for its population count this year, she added.
“Probably when we have the next census, we will explore that on a greater scale,” she said
But with most rural households still with no access to internet infrastructure nor a decent desktop at home, a full-blown online census may be distant.
A national ID system could make the transition to online census easier but the law imposes restrictions on the use of data collected via the national ID system.
“The national ID as provided in the law, is just foundational," Esquivias explained. "It provides you the identification of an individual but it cannot be used for other purposes.”
“For us PSA, it’s easier for us to do the census with the national ID database but we cannot do that because of the limitations in the law," she also said. "The privacy and the confidentiality of both the national ID and the census will have to take precedence over all other functional advantages. We cannot do anything that is not allowed by law.”
Results of the census cannot be used for targeting welfare spending or cash aid either.
Controversies hounding the distribution of an P8,000 dole-out for 18 million households affected by COVID-19 earlier prompted lawmakers to call for the quick implementation of the national ID system. The basis for identifying who gets the cash aid was a list made by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) which had a methodology that is totally separate from the PSA’s national census.
“The census data does not provide the name and the address," Esquivias said. "The census law only provides us to disseminate statistical summaries without identification of any individual.”
“The census law is BP [Batas Pambansa] 72 and our Philippine Statistical Act of 2013 so there’s provision on the confidentiality of information," she added, "so in fact, when we talk of SAP [social amelioration program], it’s the list of DSWD not the 2015 census of population.”
In gist, data collected from the census are for statistical purposes only – the results help policymakers decide how to distribute public funds to local communities and where to build new schools, hospitals and public parks.
Pen and paper plus stickers
The rest of the population not covered by the online census for this year will be visited by enumerators – some with pen and paper, others with computer tablets or will just ask for the household’s phone number for a follow-up call if they opt for a phone interview.
The PSA is hiring 120,000 people to do the job.
“One enumeration area would be about 400 households so the enumerator will have to move around covering 400 households within a span of one month,” Esquivias said.
The statistics agency is urging the public to cooperate in the census, giving assurances that the enumerators will be properly equipped with masks and other protective equipment.
With household visits still widely the norm, the census sticker is here to stay.
“We will have stickers to be posted by enumerators because the sticker is a very visible sign that will tell us supervisors in terms of coverage,” Esquivias said. “It’s part of our quality assurance.”
https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/5/27/PSA-hiring-nationwide-population-census.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)