Thursday, January 28, 2021
Good News: Forgiveness
If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared. Psalm 130:3-4
“To err is human; to forgive, divine,” said the wise man long ago. It’s true, but of all the transactions which take place between people, none is more difficult than to seek and give forgiveness. There’s good news, however. Forgiveness is the key to emotional and spiritual healing and the passport to your future happiness. It’s God’s way of eliminating the cancer of hatred and anger which rips the fabric of relationships apart much as a little boy tears the wrapper off a candy bar.
The Psalmist wrote, “If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared” (Psalm 130:3,4). Who was the author? Probably David, one of the greatest personalities of all time, a man who earned the respect of generations not only for what he did but for his humility in acknowledging his sins and failure.
A few minutes ago I used my computer to scan the text of the Bible to see how many times the phrase, “I have sinned,” appears in the Bible. A rather wide group of people cried out, “I have sinned,” but only David said, “I have sinned greatly!”
Was David that much worse than others? Not necessarily. But what David did gives us insights to what we must do in coming to grips with the necessity of forgiveness. First, he acknowledged his personal failure. When he had a sexual relationship with another man’s wife and ultimately was responsible for his death, David could have said, “I couldn’t help it. I was just overwhelmed with Bathsheba’s beauty.” Even though he was king, he wasn’t exempt from the consequences. His conscience convicted him and he knew that his sin was not only against Bathsheba and her husband, he had sinned against God. “My sin is always before me,” said David, adding, “Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight…” (Psalm 51:4).
Do you want to silence that voice within which says what you have done is wrong? Then do what David did: First, admit your wrongdoing, then take the second step: Ask God to forgive you. David cried out, “‘O LORD, have mercy on me; heal me, for I have sinned against you” (Psalm 41:4). It takes strength to do that, but with it comes the reward of peace and joy. The New Testament says if we confess our sins, God is faithful and will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness or wrongdoing (see 1 John 1:9). The word to confess really means to agree. It was the word which you would use when you wanted to match two sticks which were of equal length and size. It means that your heart says, “Yes, God, I agree with your verdict. I sinned.”
It’s also interesting to notice that when David asked for forgiveness, he also asked for healing. Can you relate to that? Frankly, it’s a lot easier to find God’s forgiveness than it is to forgive ourselves and to get on with the process of putting our lives together after a hideous failure. That involves inner healing– which brings us to the third step in the process of restoration: Cooperate with the Lord in bringing healing to your life and the lives of those whom you have hurt. My definition of forgiveness is this: “I give up my right to hurt you because you hurt me.” That process of giving up something means I have to release the bitterness and the pain as well as giving up my hatred of myself, the resentfulness which I feel towards myself because in a moment of weakness or lust, I destroyed what I really love and want. Thank God, David was right: There is forgiveness with God which allows you to forgive yourself as well.
Resource reading: Psalm 41.
https://www.guidelines.org/devotional/good-news-forgiveness-2/
"Viewing Guide"
Guided publicity column that was broadcast on January 1, 2017. The pre-broadcasting period mainly broadcasts the previews of the first and second programs on the day and the next day. On July 1, 2022, it became an important part of the channel packaging work of ABS-CBN, aiming to actively promote the spread of the overall image and concept of ABS-CBN, and to cooperate with all major publicity events in the whole station to carry out all-round guide publicity. The main content of this column includes all kinds of overall image propaganda videos of ABS-CBN, as well as medium and long-term propaganda videos and broadcast time reminders of key columns and programs. Broadcast daily on ABS-CBN and Studio 23, with a total length of 40 minutes. On the basis of the total daily broadcast length of 40 minutes, the first set of programs and the second set of programs on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday will be broadcast on a rolling basis with a duration of 3 minutes.
ABS-CBN franchise best left to next Congress: House leader
By Filane Mikee Cervantes
The chairperson of the House committee on legislative franchises on Thursday said the issue regarding broadcast giant ABS-CBN's franchise renewal is best left to the next Congress.
Palawan Rep. Franz Alvarez, committee chair, made the statement after Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor asked the House plenary to take up an unresolved bill granting ABS-CBN a provisional franchise.
"Based on my understanding from the House leadership, the ABS-CBN franchise issue is best left to the next Congress," Alvarez said in a statement.
Alvarez said the network's franchise issue was put to rest when his committee rejected the network’s franchise application with a 70-11 vote in July 2020.
"Under the rules, anyone of the 70 House members who voted against the franchise application could file a motion for reconsideration on behalf of ABS-CBN to challenge the decision of the Committee. Unfortunately, there was none, thus the Committee decision has become final," he said.
Alvarez further said House Bill 6732, the measure in question, is already "moot and academic" because the proposed provisional franchise to be granted to ABS-CBN would only be effective until October 31, 2020.
On Jan. 5, Deputy Speaker Vilma Santos-Recto filed House Bill No. 8298 seeking to renew for another 25 years ABS-CBN’s legislative franchise.
To recall, Congress was unable to renew the network’s congressional franchise before its expiration date on May 4, 2020.
ABS-CBN, upon the directive of the National Telecommunications Commission’s (NTC) shutdown order, ceased its broadcast operations on May 5, 2020.
The previous House hearings have exhaustively discussed the network’s franchise issues, including the citizenship of ABS-CBN chair emeritus Gabby Lopez; the possible violation of the constitutional limits on foreign ownership; reported labor and tax violations; and other violations of the terms of its legislative franchise.
The NTC on June 30, 2020 also issued two cease and desist orders, directing ABS-CBN to halt the operation of its digital television transmission using Amcara Broadcasting Corp.’s Channel 43 and the direct-to-home satellite transmission of its cable firm, Sky Cable Corp.
Comelec reusing materials printed for Palawan plebiscite
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has resolved to use in the March 13, 2021 Palawan plebiscite all the accountable and non-accountable forms that were printed for the purpose of the May 11, 2020 Palawan plebiscite that was postponed due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
In Resolution No. 10684, the Comelec said all dates appearing in the printed plebiscite accountable and non-accountable forms as May 11, 2020 shall be read as March 13, 2021.
The poll body said for purposes of uniformity and to avoid confusion, “all other forms that will be printed in the future for purposes of the Palawan plebiscite, shall bear the date May 11, 2020.”
The Comelec originally scheduled the conduct of the plebiscite to ratify the division of the province of Palawan into Palawan del Norte, Palawan Oriental, and Palawan del Sur on May 11, 2020.
This is in accordance to Republic Act No. 11259 which provides that the plebiscite should be held on the second Monday of May 2020.
In April 2020, the Comelec suspended the May 11 plebiscite due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Enhanced Community Quarantine in Luzon.
The en banc agreed with the recommendation of its Law Department that holding of a free and honest plebiscite on May 11, 2020 is impossible at the height of the spread of the COVID-19.
On October 8, 2020, the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) approved the proposal to already hold the plebiscite in Palawan.
The poll body then set the plebiscite to March 13, 2021.
https://mb.com.ph/2021/01/28/comelec-reusing-materials-printed-for-palawan-plebiscite/
ABS-CBN franchise rejection final — House panel chairman
“IT’s final,” a lawmaker at the House of Representatives said on Thursday when asked about the possibility of opening discussions on the franchise of shuttered media network ABS-CBN in the plenary next week.
House Committee on Legislative Franchises Chairman Franz Alvarez said his panel’s decision to reject the fresh grant of a 25-year permit to the network giant was “put to rest when the committee, voting 70-11, rejected the network’s franchise application on July 10, 2020”.
“Under the rules, anyone of the 70 House members who voted against the franchise application could file a motion for reconsideration on behalf of ABS-CBN to challenge the decision of the committee. Unfortunately, there was none, thus the Committee decision has become final,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
The possibility to tackle the ABS-CBN franchise in the plenary emerged when Anakalusugan Rep. Mike Defensor raised a point of order during the House session on Wednesday, asking to resolve the committee report on House Bill (HB) 6732, which seeks to grant a temporary franchise to the network. He said the bill, one of the items listed in the body’s “unfinished business,” must be tackled first before proceeding with the business of the day.
Senior Deputy Majority Leader Jesus Crispin Remulla assured that the plenary would start taking up items in the unfinished business on the resumption of session on Monday next week.
But for Alvarez, HB 6732 is “moot and academic” as it had proposed to grant a provisional franchise up to Oct. 31, 2020.
“Based on my understanding from the House leadership, the ABS-CBN franchise issue is best left to the next Congress,” he said.
STATEMENT OF HOUSE COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATIVE FRANCHISES CHAIR AND PALAWAN 1ST DISTRICT REP. FRANZ ALVAREZ
The ABS-CBN franchise issue was put to rest when the Committee, voting 70-11, rejected the network’s franchise application on July 10, 2020.
Under the rules, anyone of the 70 House members who voted against the franchise application could file a motion for reconsideration on behalf of ABS-CBN to challenge the decision of the Committee. Unfortunately, there was none, thus the Committee decision has become final.
The subject matter of the unfinished business in the plenary is House Bill 6732, which seeks to grant ABS-CBN a provisional franchise effective until October 31, 2020. Obviously, this is already moot and academic.
Based on my understanding from the House leadership, the ABS-CBN franchise issue is best left to the next Congress.
Lorenzana fires military intel chief over false tagging of UP alumni as NPA members
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Thursday fired the deputy chief of staff for intelligence of the Armed Forces of the Philippines over the release of a false list that tagged alumni of the University of the Philippines as members of the New People’s Army (NPA).
In a statement, Lorenzana said he relieved Maj. Gen. Alex Luna from his post effective Thursday due to his "unforgivable lapse."
The list of names of UP alumni who supposedly died or were arrested as NPA members, came from Luna's office, according to Lorenzana.
"His negligence only shows a lackadaisical attitude towards his job resulting to confusion and damage to reputation. We do not take these offenses lightly and I want to hold the people involved accountable," said Lorenzana.
Alumni from the premiere state university slammed the post, saying it stirred misinformation.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) had earlier admitted the mistake, and likewise apologized for posting the now deleted list on its Information Exchange Facebook account.
Marie Lisa Dacanay, president of the Institute for Social Entrepreneurship in Asia, earlier said that the AFP must be held accountable for releasing what she called "false news."
ABS-CBN franchise issue 'best left to next Congress' —House franchise panel chair
The issue of the franchise renewal of broadcast firm ABS-CBN is best addressed in the next Congress, House committee on legislative franchises chair Franz Alvarez said Thursday.
Alvarez made the remark amid new moves to reopen the deliberations on the ABS-CBN franchise renewal bid, and the assertion of Anakalusugan party-list Representative Mike Defensor for the House plenary to take up the "unresolved" measure granting the network a provisional franchise.
"Based on my understanding from the House leadership, the ABS-CBN franchise issue is best left to the next Congress," Alvarez said in a statement to reporters.
According to him, the ABS-CBN franchise issue was put to rest when 70 members of his committee voted to reject the network's franchise renewal bid in July last year.
"Under the rules, anyone of the 70 House members who voted against the franchise application could file a motion for reconsideration on behalf of ABS-CBN to challenge the decision of the Committee," he said.
"Unfortunately, there was none, thus the Committee decision has become final," he added.
Deputy Speaker Vilma Santos-Recto has earlier filed a fresh measure seeking to renew ABS-CBN's franchise for another 25 years after Senate President Vicente Sotto III made a similar move in the Senate.
Santos-Recto's bill has so far been referred to the House committee on legislative franchises.
Meanwhile, Defensor on Wednesday called on the House plenary to take up measures that have yet to be acted upon by the chamber, including the committee report for House Bill 6732 which sought to grant ABS-CBN a provisional franchise until October 31, 2020.
He argued that the committee report has been included in the "unfinished business" of the House for many months already, and the chamber should take this up first before going on with their business for the day.
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.
But Alvarez said that since House Bill 6732 sought to grant ABS-CBN a provisional franchise until October 31, 2020 only, this is already "moot and academic."
Nevertheless, the House decided to take up "unfinished business" on Monday next week, to which Defensor agreed.
ABS-CBN's franchise lapsed on May 4, 2020. It went off air the following day after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued a cease and desist order.
The NTC's action was contrary to NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba’s statement before the House of Representatives in March that they would issue a provisional authority to ABS-CBN to allow its continued broadcast operations "based on equity."
The House only decided to start its deliberations on bills seeking ABS-CBN's franchise renewal last March 10 even though these proposals had been pending in Congress since the beginning of the 18th Congress in July 2019.—AOL, GMA News
The damage has been done: Respondents in Dacera case speak up after PNP report
Two respondents in the case related to the death of flight attendant Christine Dacera on Thursday said they want the case to reach a conclusion, saying it has caused damage in their lives.
Gigo De Guzman and Clark Rapinan, who were with Dacera during the New Year's Eve party in a Makati hotel, said they were feeling mixed emotions when the police released its report that Dacera died of natural causes.
The medico legal report from Jan. 11 ruled out homicide, saying Dacera had died of aortic aneurysm, "a medical condition."
"For now, all we want is for it to be over because we’ll move on with our lives. We want to restart it because we don’t even know where to start to build everything that has been damaged," De Guzman told ANC's Headstart.
De Guzman said the incident instilled in him a "fear of even doing the right thing, of trying to help because people will take it out of context, will antagonize you if they want to for their own entertainment."
"The damage has been done on our lives. The stigma, the notoriety, the articles are all over the net, even my mom’s legacy has been tainted already," he said, referring to his mother, famous singer Claire Dela Fuente.
Rapinan also shared that he wants his life to return to normal as this case also affected his family and his job.
"Sirang sira na po 'yung reputation namin, gusto na naming bumalik sa normal ang buhay namin. May mga pamilya din po kami na sobrang naapektuhan. Sobrang naapektuhan 'yung pamilya namin, 'yung trabaho namin. Basically 'yung buhay namin sobrang damaged na, na hindi naming alam paano magsisimula ulit. Sobrang hirap, sana po maawa na kayo sa amin," he said.
(Our reputations have been severely damaged, we want to return to our normal lives. We have families too who were gravely affected. Our families, our jobs were affected. Basically, our lives have been damaged that we don't know how to begin again. It's so difficult, please have mercy on us.)
Dacera, 23, was found unconscious in a bathtub on New Year's Day after a night out with her friends, including De Guzman and Rapinan. Her companions tried to revive her and rushed her to a hospital but was declared dead-on-arrival.
Her mother, Sharon, initially filed a complaint for rape with homicide against 11 respondents.
De Guzman said their group has been trying to understand Sharon Dacera's view of the situation but he hopes the police report "finally clears everything out."
"I hope that you find the peace that you’ve been wanting. And if you have, I hope you can help us find our peace," he said.
'Bakit ngayon?' CBCP says no to Charter change, questions timing
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines on Thursday said it opposes moves to amend the 1987 Constitution at this time, reiterating its previous pastoral statements on charter change that raised suspicions about the timing of the proposal.
Speaking in a press conference following the Philippine bishops’ virtual assembly, CBCP vice president Bishop Pablo David of Caloocan questioned why the efforts are being made to change the Constitution at this time of the pandemic.
The bishops touched on the issue of charter change at the biannual meeting held on January 26-27 and said that their previous statements on the matter still stand.
Bishop David said the CBCP, as a body, has not yet decided if it is issuing a new statement on the matter but may feel the need to issue a new statement depending on the developments. He said the Episcopal Commission on Social Action, Justice and Peace (ECSA-JP) is reiterating the position in a statement.
"We made ourselves very clear especially in the 2018 CBCP pastoral letter on charter change. That’s precisely why we did not yet feel the need to issue a new one because our previous pastoral statement on charter change was just in 2018 and that’s just 3 years ago so it is still very relevant," he said.
“The basic questions are still the same: Bakit ngayon? Why now? Especially the context of pandemic, all the more reason to be suspicious. Why you would be bringing in the agenda of charter change? But our focus and priority should really be the pandemic. And of course the same old issues about, you know the expression, ‘if ain’t broke, why fix?’ What matters most is really to fully implement the Constitution, the 1987 Constitution,” David said.
"These are the things we have said in the previous pastorals about charter change and they are reiterated by the statement made our Episcopal Commission on Social Action, Justice and Peace on charter change.”
CBCP president Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao agreed it is not yet time for charter change.
“Could I mention two previous documents from the CBCP, of course, with prudent wording, we said, not yet, not this time,” Valles said.
“The statement from the particular commission will stand as of now. We discussed that and we support the statement of that particular commission,” Valles added.
“Yes,” Valles said when asked if the CBCP is still against charter change based on previous statements.
“And we still are,” David seconded.
Issued on January 29, 2018, the CBCP’s Pastoral Guidelines for Discerning the Moral Dimension of the Present-day Moves for Charter Change expressed the bishops’ position on attempts to change the charter.
“(O)ur moral stand was and remains consistent, namely: Amending the fundamental law of the land, so carefully crafted for the common good after years of dictatorship, requires widespread peoples’ participation and consultation, unity of vision, transparency, and relative serenity that allows for rational discussion and debate,” the pastoral statement signed by Valles for the CBCP said.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/01/28/21/bakit-ngayon-cbcp-says-no-to-charter-change-questions-timing
House panel chair: ABS-CBN franchise issue ‘best left to the next Congress’
Anakalusugan Representative Mike Defensor, one of ABS-CBN's main accusers, had tried to ask the plenary to act on a 'moot and academic' bill that would have given the network an interim franchise
The chair of the House committee on legislative franchises doused hopes that his panel would reconsider its denial of ABS-CBN’s franchise under the Duterte administration.
“Based on my understanding from the House leadership, the ABS-CBN franchise issue is best left to the next Congress,” Palawan 1st District Representative Franz Alvarez said on Thursday, January 28.
Alvarez made the statement a day after Anakalusugan Representative Mike Defensor – one of the media giant’s main accusers during the franchise hearings last year – asked the plenary to act on pending House Bill (HB) No. 6732 that seeks to give ABS-CBN an interim franchise for 6 months.
Defensor, however, failed to note that HB 6732 seeks to give the now-shutdown ABS-CBN a provisional franchise until October 31, 2020 only.
Even if the House plenary decides to act on this bill, Alvarez said it would already be “moot and academic.”
Deposed House speaker Alan Peter Cayetano had co-authored the interim franchise bill for ABS-CBN, but later decided to drop it so the hearings on the network's main franchise application would resume in the chamber.
Th House committee on legislative franchises then rejected ABS-CBN's bid for a franchise renewal in July 2020 following President Rodrigo Duterte's sustained threats against the network.
Even before the rejection, ABS-CBN was already ordered to cease its television and radio operations when its 25-year-old franchise expired on May 4, 2020.
Legislators denied ABS-CBN’s franchise bid over alleged "numerous violations" – a decision widely condemned as politically motivated under a House dominated by Duterte allies.
Cayetano had defended the closure of ABS-CBN, saying legislators did the country a favor by "reclaiming patrimony from oligarchs."
He was later ousted by his rival, now Speaker Lord Allan Velaco, also an ally of the President.
Earlier this month, House Deputy Speaker Vilma Santos Recto and Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III filed their respective bills giving a fresh franchise to ABS-CBN.
But Alvarez said last year’s decision of the House committee on legislative franchises against the network is already final.
“The ABS-CBN franchise issue was put to rest when the committee, voting 70-11, rejected the network’s franchise application on July 10, 2020,” Alvarez said.
“Under the rules, any one of the 70 House members who voted against the franchise application could file a motion for reconsideration on behalf of ABS-CBN to challenge the decision of the committee. Unfortunately, there was none, thus the committee decision has become final,” he added.
After the closure of its broadcast operations, ABS-CBN focused on its digital and cable businesses. But many Filipinos still do not have access to such technology.
It would keep GMA, IBC, NBC, PTV, RJTV, RPN, SBN, SMNI, TV5, UNTV, and Zoe TV as the sole free-to-air networks.
The closure of the media network denied citizens a reliable source of information while the country is still struggling with the coronavirus pandemic.
House panel’s rejection of ABS-CBN franchise is final, chair says
The rejection of ABS-CBN’s application for a fresh franchise by a House committee is already final as no lawmaker appealed its decision, the panel’s chair said Thursday.
House legislative franchises committee chair Rep. Franz Alvarez (Palawan) said that any of the 70 lawmakers who voted to reject the media giant’s application for a franchise could have filed a motion for reconsideration, but none of them did.
“Thus the committee decision has become final,” Alvarez said, referring to the panel’s July 2020 vote to deny ABS-CBN a new license which led to job losses and an information-gap amid a raging pandemic and numerous calamities.
Alvarez also said that it is already “moot and academic” to take up the ABS-CBN franchise as the bill in the House’s unfinished business only seeks to grant the media giant a franchise until October 31, 2020.
But House records show that the chamber reconsidered on May 18, 2020 the proposal’s approval on second reading and reopened debates on the measure.
Under House Rule X, Section 56, lawmakers may introduce amendments to a measure after debates on it are terminated.
Philstar.com sought further clarification from Alvarez, but he has yet to respond as of writing.
Plenary vote
Alvarez’ statement came after Rep. Michael Defensor (Anakalusugan party-list) attempted Wednesday to bring the committee report on a measure which seeks to grant ABS-CBN a provisional franchise up to a plenary vote.
Defensor contended that the plenary must take this up first before any other measure as it has been in the House’s unfinished business for months. The House rejected Defensor’s argument, but the leadership eventually committed to take up unfinished business beginning Monday.
Lawmakers who want ABS-CBN to be given a fresh franchise have been saying that the plenary could undo the panel’s decision to deny the TV network’s bid for a new license.
It is not clear, however, which way the House would go on the ABS-CBN franchise. Alvarez said he believes that the House leadership would rather let the next Congress decide on the media giant’s fate.
The House is also still dominated by allies of President Rodrigo Duterte, who has vowed to see the end of the TV network after it earned his ire for not airing his campaign advertisement and for supposedly taking sides during the 2016 presidential race.
Speaker Lord Allan Velasco has been silent on the matter, leaving his allies to issue conflicting views on a new franchise for the TV network.
Duterte has also signalled that any company seeking a franchise “won’t see the light of day” unless they pay the right amount of taxes, a remark that Malacañang said applies to the shuttered broadcast giant ABS-CBN.
A handful of lawmakers, however, have refiled bills which seek to grant ABS-CBN a new 25-year franchise.
ABS-CBN franchise issue best left to next Congress, says Alvarez
For House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Franchises chairman and Palawan Rep. Franz Alvarez, the issue of ABS-CBN franchise is “best left to the next Congress” based on his understanding from the leadership of the lower chamber.
Alvarez made the remark Thursday as the issue of ABS-CBN franchise re-surfaced following an attempt to take up an unresolved provisional franchise bill for the network to the plenary.
During Wednesday’s session, Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor raised a point of order, pointing out that the committee report on House Bill No. 6732, which seeks to grant ABS-CBN a provisional franchise, is still under the plenary’s “unfinished business” and should be addressed first.
Defensor voted to deny ABS-CBN’s franchise bid.
Alvarez, however, said the bill in question was already “moot and academic” since the provisional franchise proposed in the measure was only effective until October 31, 2020.
“The subject matter of the unfinished business in the plenary is House Bill 6732, which seeks to grant ABS-CBN a provisional franchise effective until October 31, 2020. Obviously, this is already moot and academic,” Alvarez said in a statement.
“Based on my understanding from the House leadership, the ABS-CBN franchise issue is best left to the next Congress,” he added.
Alvarez said the ABS-CBN franchise issue was already “put to rest” when 70 members of the legislative franchises panel voted to deny the network’s bid back in July 2020.
“Under the rules, anyone of the 70 House members who voted against the franchise application could file a motion for reconsideration on behalf of ABS-CBN to challenge the decision of the Committee. Unfortunately, there was none, thus the Committee decision has become final,” Alvarez said.
House Bill No. 6732 was filed by former Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and his allies back in May 2020 amid public clamor for the House to tackle several bills seeking to grant ABS-CBN a 25-year franchise.
When Cayetano filed the provisional franchise bill, the House had yet to set a date for the hearings on ABS-CBN’s franchise bid.
Nonetheless, it would have allowed ABS-CBN to operate at that time even as hearings on its franchise renewal bid were still ongoing.
The bill was approved on second reading, but was later recalled after the House leadership opted to tackle the bills pushing for a 25-year franchise for ABS-CBN, instead of a provisional franchise.
https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1389285/fwd-alvarez-abs-cbn-franchise-issue-best-left-to-next-congress