ABS-CBN FATE LIES WITH COURT – DRILON
WITH Congress adjourning sine die on June 3, the fate of ABSCBN Corp. lies with the Supreme Court, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said on Wednesday. only speedy The hope senator intervention. was for said the the high network’s court’s
lang ay‘yun gk as os a Kort eS up rem a.“Angp wed eng remedy on a (temporary ‘Yung restraining hinihinging order) TRO ng the ABS-CBN case [it (The filed] only with remedy the Supreme left is Court. The TRO that it sought),” Drilon said in a radio interview.
The high court did not issue a TRO against the National Telecommunications Commission when it tackled the case on Tuesday, opting instead to direct the commission to file its comment to the case in 10 days.
“The ball is with the House of Representatives insofar as the ABSCBN franchise is concerned. If they do not send us anything, then we cannot debate, consider and pass it,” Drilon said. Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian admitted that there was little hope for Congress to pass the franchise bill. “I was hoping yesterday (May 1Y) that the short term, provisional franchise for ABS-CBN would be transmitted to the Senate so that the network can immediately operate and join in the fight against Covid-19,” said Gatchalian. The House of Representatives recalled its passage on second reading of House Bill 6732 which seeks to grant a temporary franchise for the network. Drilon said with the sudden change in the House of Representatives, ABS-CBN would have to remain off-the-air for months.
“The reality is, when we adjourn on June 3 and come back on July 27, ABS-CBN cannot go back on the air, because the franchise has not been renewed by Congress,” he said.
“Nobody will be harmed if ABS-CBN is granted a provisional franchise. Angmasasagasaan ‘yung 11,000 employees ng ABSCBN kungwalang provisional franchise ( Those who will be severely affected are the 11,000 employees of ABS-CBN if there is no provisional franchise [to allow it to operate),” he said.
Drilon said if the House could pass the franchise bill in August, the Senate could pass it on the same month.
“It is not a problem with us. The problem lies with the House of Representatives,” the senator said.
The House of Representatives will start hearing the franchise renewal bills next week, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said.
The House leadership has decided to proceed with deliberations on the 12 pending franchise renewal bills instead of granting a provisional franchise that was supposed to allow the network to operate temporarily until October 31.
With Congress adjourning sine die in two weeks, Cayetano said the committee will most likely conduct hearings two to three times a week to finish deliberations at the committee level by August.
“The deliberations by the committee on legislative franchises will continue during our recess. They will not stop until they are finished so that no one can say we’re stopping the process or dragging our feet,” he said.