Friday, June 5, 2020

How is the ABS-CBN Franchise being processed?

1. It will take at least 7 hearings (based from sources) at the House of Representatives (So far there has 4, and 3 to go "the very least")

2. There will be a voting system in the committee level led by Franz Alvarez; the committee has more or less 96 members and ABS-CBN has to get at least half of the votes to proceed in the plenary session.

3. In the plenary session, there will be three readings, included here are the provisions and inserts for the franchise. If the Bill passes up to the Third and final reading, it will be transferred to the Upper House/the Senate.

4. Senate has also three readings. There could be changes based on the provisions of the franchise or they could agree with the Lower House's version. If Senate interferes with changes, both Houses will decide until for the final agreement. If no objections, it will be passed and then transmitted to the Office of the President.

5. The President then has options- sign it into a law, veto it, or make it lapsed into a law in a month.

6. If all process prosper in favor of ABS-CBN, the network has to apply all necessary permits to the National Telecommunications Commission. Then they can go back on air!

* It will take months for this process to happen
* The fastest way they can go back on air is to get the TRO from the Supreme Court vs. the Cease and Desist Order filed by NTC.

House OKs bill creating 2 more Rizal districts

The House of Representatives has approved on third, and final, reading a bill that reapportions Rizal’s Second District into three legislative districts.

Rizal Rep. Fidel Nograles, who represents the district, said House Bill 6222 was approved on Monday.

Nograles hailed the bill’s approval, and expressed optimism the measure would hurdle the Senate’s scrutiny and merit the President’s signature soon.

“We filed the reapportioning bill to ensure equitable representation for our constituents. At the moment, the coverage of the Second District is too big,” he said.

“No matter how we strive to serve all the constituents, some will be left behind if the present setup continues,” Nograles added.

Under the present setup, Rizal’s four legislators are representing 2.9 million constituents, or a ratio of one for every 721,000 people.

In contrast, Pangasinan and Batangas, which have roughly the same population, have six legislative districts, he explained.

The bill divides the First and Second Districts into four, with each one composed of the following towns:

  • First Legislative District–Rodriguez and San Mateo
  • Second Legislative District–Taytay
  • Third Legislative District–Angono and Binangonan
  • Fourth Legislative District–Cardona, Baras, Tanay, Morong, Jala-jala, Pililia, Teresa

If enacted, the measure would take effect in time for the 2022 elections.

Nograles said he filed the reapportioning bill earlier this year on account of logistical challenges he had encountered during his first year in office.

“While we are aware that governance requires making hard decisions in terms of distributing valuable yet finite resources in our jurisdictions, the choice is much more difficult when by all accounts the towns are on equal footing,” lamented the lawmaker.

He also said that the province would receive additional funds with two more legislative districts and that would help Rizal grapple with the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns imposed to control its spread.