Anakalusugan party-list Representative Mike Defensor on Wednesday called on the House of Representatives to take up measures that have yet to be acted upon by the chamber, including the one that sought to grant ABS-CBN a provisional franchise.
During the chamber's plenary session this afternoon, Defensor stood up and manifested that the committee report on House Bill 6732, which grants ABS-CBN a franchise to operate until October 31 last year, has been languishing on the floor for many months already.
The said committee report has been included in the "unfinished business" of the House, and Defensor argued that the chamber should take up these matters first before going on with their business for the day.
"Mr. Speaker, I would like to raise a point of order that the unfinished business of the ABS-CBN franchise be decided first before we take up any issue in plenary," Defensor said.
"Malinaw na malinaw na nakasaad sa calendar of business natin na bago pag-usapan ang business of the day, bago pag-usapan ang anumang debate sa anumang batas ay tapusin muna natin ang consideration ng mga items o mga batas sa ilalim ng unfinished business," he added.
House Bill 6732 was filed by former Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and seven other lawmakers in May last year to grant ABS-CBN a provisional franchise while the Committee on Legislative Franchises was deliberating on the measures that sought to renew the original franchise of the network for another 25 years.
The measure was approved in the committee level, through the Committee of the Whole, and on second reading on May 13, 2020, eight days after ABS-CBN went off air, but it was later reverted to the plenary to accommodate additional interpellation and amendments from lawmakers.
Cayetano then decided to just consider the proposals to grant a 25-year-franchise to ABS-CBN instead of giving the network a provisional one, leaving House Bill 6732 pending on the floor.
The House franchise panel later rejected the franchise renewal bid after a lengthy series of hearings.
Responding to Defensor's point of order, Deputy Majority Leader Mikey Arroyo said what the plenary was deliberating were businesses for Thursday and Friday based on the motion of Acting Deputy Majority Leader Xavier Jesus Romualdo.
Arroyo added that no House member objected when Romualdo made his motion, allowing the plenary to proceed to discuss matters for Thursday and Friday.
Defensor objected and said that in the order of motions in the chamber, the "point of order" is of the highest hierarchy.
"I assert that the committee report conducted by the Committee of the Whole has been submitted for the longest time. Nandito na sa atin yan, the unfinished business of the ABS-CBN franchise," he said.
"And I'm calling that we either affirm the committee report and do away with that unfinished business before we continue with the other businesses of the day that we are considering as a plenary," he added.
Deputy Speaker Isidro Ungab, who was the presiding officer that time, turned down Defensor's point of order as he affirmed Arroyo's explanation.
Defensor, nevertheless, appealed the Ungab's decision, and after a discussion among lawmakers during a suspension of the session, the chamber decided to take up unfinished business on Monday next week.
"It was already agreed upon with the Hon. Defensor that the assurance of the distinguished deputy majority leader is official: that we will take up items in the unfinished business by Monday. We will start taking them up," said Senior Deputy Majority Leader Jesus Crispin Remulla, who took over the majority floor leadership.
It is unclear at this point, however, how the chamber will act upon the committee report on House Bill 6732, since its original intention was to grant ABS-CBN a provisional franchise until October 31, 2020 only.
GMA News Online reached out to Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez on this matter, but he said he would have to study it first.
Deputy Speaker Vilma Santos has already filed a fresh measure seeking to renew ABS-CBN's franchise for another 25 years.
The measure has so far been referred to the Committee on Legislative Franchises. — BM, GMA News
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