Catholic bishops lose radio-TV franchise amid house inaction
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has failed to have its radio-TV franchise renewed by Congress.
The CBCP franchise was good only up to Aug. 7, and a bill filed in late January for that purpose, according to the House of Representatives, has not moved beyond the committee on legislative franchises.
Despite the non-renewal, CBCP Radio was still broadcasting as of yesterday, although its programming, mainly canned mellow music interspersed with “stop the killings” exhortations, has moved online.
“Using radio and television, CBCP had the privilege of bringing to the masses great events like the pontificate visits of Pope Paul VI in 1970, Pope John Paul II in 1982 and 1995 and Pope Francis in 2015, as well as the Edsa One Revolution in 1986 and Edsa Dos in 2000,” Albay Rep. Joey Salceda said in his explanatory note to House Bill 4820 that he filed in January. Salceda, who switched his political support for administration presidential candidate Mar Roxas to Grace Poe in last year’s elections, also inserted a new provision in the proposed CBCP Radio franchise, seeking tax-free importation for its broadcast equipment.
An original provision in the 1967 CBCP franchise, which says “a special right is reserved to the President Salceda of the Philippines in time of war, rebellion, public peril, or other national emergency, when public safety requires, to cause the closing of said stations or to authorize the use and operation thereof by any department of the Government without compensation to the grantee for the use of said stations during continuance of the national emergency”, was missing in the Salceda bill.
The CBCP media office has failed as of this writing to respond to emails seeking clarification. Its listed media director, Melo Acuna, also happens to work for China Radio International, the Chinese state-radio network based in Beijing.
Even without the CBCP Radio, the Catholic Church still has a larger broadcast footprint in Radio Veritas and its network of 53 other AM radio stations across the country.
Likewise, it operates the nationwide Spirit FM radio network and the cable TV Maria station.
Gatchalian sees Ayala as savior, if he could get past SC, Lucio Tan
Two decades after the regional currency crisis and import liberalization sunk his plastics empire, taipan William Gatchalian is banking on his new ally, Ayala Land, to revive his fortunes.
But first he must get past the Supreme Court and a bigger taipan, Lucio Tan.
In 2010, the Gatchalian group of companies filed a petition for corporate rehabilitation to stave off a foreclosure sale for his sprawling Plastic City in Valenzuela by creditor banks led by Tan’s Philippine National Bank and BDO.
While the rehab plan was mired in the judicial proceedings, Gatchalian in 2012 struck up an agreement with Ayala Land subsidiary Avida Land Corp. to redevelop a 21.3-hectare portion of the 84-hectare Plastics City into a commercial-residential district, a venture that should give Gatchalian a revenue stream of P4.2 billion in five years.
There was one hitch, though. Out of that 21.3 hectares, 8.47 hectares Gatchalian with President Duterte were mortgaged to PNB.
The putative venture with Avida was rejected in 2014 by the Valenzuela Regional Trial Court, which not only declared the Gatchalian group insolvent but also ordered the liquidation of their mortgaged properties as prayed for by PNB.
Still, Gatchalian has managed to stave off the liquidation, even with the Supreme Court denying last November the Gatchalian petition that eventually paved for the Valenzuela court last March to order PNB to continue the foreclosure.
With hope springing eternal, Gatchalian has again filed new petitions for review with the Supreme Court and the RTC levels, effectively stopping the foreclosure clock.
“The length of review by the courts will give the group enough time to explore other business opportunities” like the planned re-entry into the mining and real estate businesses, Gatchalian’s son, Wellex Industries president Kenneth Gatchalian, told shareholders ahead of the next month’s meeting.
In the meantime, Tan himself struck not one but two deals with Ayala, contributing lands to an Ayala low-cost housing project in Calamba, Laguna and a new commercial-business district along C-5 in Libis.
In any case, do not be surprised if Ayala Land president Bernard Dy one of these days pulls out a compromise deal between the two headstrong taipans cobbled through their more mellow sons.
Heard through the grapevine
SkyJet, the boutique airline now controlled by developer-broadcast magnate William Tieng, is seeking to expand its government franchise to include “international air transport services”, with Terminal 4 as its base like low-cost carrier AirAsia.
Should the application be granted, SkyJet would also be able to fly in regional casino players to the Tieng-controlled Thunderbird Resort and Casino adjoining the Poro Point airport in San Fernando, La Union.
E-mail: moneygoround.manila@yahoo.com