Slain on the table

IN parliamentary language, tabling a bill does not automatically mean killing it. Under the rules of parliamentary procedure, it can mean setting a bill aside or putting it on hold until such time when the debate on it can be resumed.

But the euphemism makes no sense when used by the honorable members of the House Legislative Franchises Committee, who voted 70-11 against granting the franchise application of ABS-CBN Corp.

The franchise bill is not being shelved for a period of time, to be taken up again in the future. It is not being deferred or postponed for further discussion. The bill is essentially dead—“killed” was the word actually used—because nothing further will be done about it. No meaningful action toward granting ABS-CBN a franchise can ever prosper in the House of Representatives.

Of course, one can argue with good reason that the franchise application was “dead on arrival” to begin with; that the extended public hearings about the bill were merely for partisan congressional bickering and scoring political points rather than actual legislation.

How else can one explain the committee report—40 pages written by the three-person technical working group practically overnight—that recommended the junking of ABS-CBN’S franchise and the succeeding lopsided vote that adopted it?

Public hearings are supposed to be used by congressional committees for information gathering, for analyzing and designing laws, and for oversight and scrutiny of existing laws.

Resource persons in these hearings are invited to help shed light on the truth regarding the measure, so they can discuss the merits and disadvantages of the bill.

But did the honorable members of the House committee really listen to the resource persons they invited to shed light on the ABS-CBN franchise?

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, one of the bill’s authors, said the findings of the TWG went against the evidence presented in the past 12 hearings, which showed ABS-CBN had complied with all the provisions of our Constitution, as well as the country’s laws, statutes and regulations.

Agusan del Norte Rep. Lawrence Fortun, another author, said the TWG findings are a complete departure from the official position and statements of the departments, agencies, offices and independent organizations invited to the hearing.

Representatives of the Department of Justice, Department of Labor, Bureau of Immigration, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) all cleared ABS-CBN of any violations when they testified.

None of the testimonies mattered.

Seen in this light, the voting that took place regarding the ABS-CBN franchise was mostly symbolic because the bill had an almost zero chance to pass. Granting ABS-CBN a franchise was never given serious consideration, even in the best circumstances.

Rep. Rodriguez said ABS-CBN or any member of the House committee on Legislative franchises can still file a motion for reconsideration, but given the same congressmen comprising the committee and given the same political climate that seemingly doomed the franchise from the start, a motion for reconsideration is likewise doomed.

In concluding the hearing, Anakalusugan Party-list Representative Mike Defensor—who along with House Deputy Speaker Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla and House Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta were among the most passionate challengers of the ABS-CBN franchise—had to stress for emphasis that “in parliamentary courtesy, when a bill is being approved, we don’t necessarily vote no because we just lay it on the table. But technically for a franchise application, the effect would be to kill the application of the franchise.”

Senator Ralph Recto, who condemned the denial of the franchise and whose wife, Rep. Vilma Santos (Batangas 6th District), was one of the 11 congressmen who voted in favor of the franchise, rightly called it a death penalty meted out to the TV station.

We got the idea long before it was spelled out.

There are many kinds of media murders, indeed, not just the gangland-style killings that made our country one of the most dangerous places for journalists.

Death can be dealt in more ways than one. Death can come at the hands of Congress too, brought about by the kind of politics that vehemently rejects the principles and practices of a democracy and denies the rights and freedoms mass media defends so vigorously.