Watch ‘sleepy’ CoA chief

The Commission on Appointments recently confirmed the appointment of former National Telecommunications head Gamaliel Cordoba as chairman of the Commission on Audit.

Cordoba’s confirmation was previously delayed after Senator Risa Hontiveros quizzed him on his official acts as NTC chair. Hontiveros grilled Cordoba on the latter’s equivocal acts during the ABS-CBN broadcast network’s application for a renewal of its legislative franchise in Congress in 2020.

For one, Cordoba is said to have reneged on his promise to Congress to temporarily allow ABS-CBN to continue its broadcast operations notwithstanding the expiration of the network’s legislative franchise.

Cordoba eventually issued a cease-and-desist order against ABS-CBN’s continuing operations sans a legislative franchise.

The problem with Cordoba goes beyond the ABS-CBN controversy.

In late 2020, after ABS-CBN failed to renew its legislative franchise, ABS-CBN executed a “block time purchase agreement” with Zoe, a television network operated by the family of evangelist and politician Eddie Villanueva.

Under the said “block time purchase agreement,” Zoe will broadcast the daily programs of ABS-CBN’s now defunct Channel 2, with just a few hours reserved for pre-recorded broadcasts of Zoe’s religious programs.

Zoe was renamed the A2Z Channel, with the letter “A” representing ABS-CBN; the number “2” indicating Channel 2, and the letter “Z” standing for Zoe.

The arrangement is patently illegal because, under the legislative franchise of Zoe, the latter cannot lend its broadcast franchise to another entity without the prior permission of Congress. At the time the “block time purchase agreement” was entered into, no such permission was obtained from Congress.

It’s like ABS-CBN is circumventing the law which requires it to obtain a legislative franchise before broadcasting.

According to ABS-CBN and Zoe, there is nothing wrong with the “block time purchase agreement” since selling airtime to a block timer is a practice in the broadcast industry.

That excuse is flimsy and flawed.

In the broadcast industry, a “block time purchase agreement” refers to an accommodation given to a “block timer,” a small-time production outfit that buys limited airtime from an established network to air its own programs.

ABS-CBN is not a small-time production outfit, and buying practically the entire broadcast day, like what ABS-CBN did with Zoe, is not purchasing “limited airtime”.

This is also the first time that the name of the network selling its airtime to a “blocktimer” agrees to change its name — from Zoe to A2Z Channel.

There being a violation of the broadcast laws, particularly the legislative franchise of Zoe, someone sent a letter to Cordoba in February 2021 to complain against the “block time purchase agreement” between ABS-CBN and Zoe.

Cordoba’s assistant, a certain Atty. Andres Castelar Jr. wrote back and promised that the NTC under Cordoba will investigate the matter.

Almost two years have passed, and nothing has been heard from Cordoba regarding the complaint. Apparently, Cordoba ignored the complaint. That is a violation of Republic

Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials.

Under its charter, the NTC must investigate violations of broadcast laws. That duty involves a very high degree of public interest. Unfortunately, no investigation of the complaint against ABS-CBN and Zoe was ever conducted, and Cordoba remains silent about his inaction.

He just conveniently let the complaint slumber in the NTC under his watch.

Now, Cordoba is the CoA chairperson.

Since Cordoba has been very inefficient in attending to his responsibilities as NTC commissioner, Cordoba can be expected to be just as irresponsible once he formally takes charge of the CoA. In all probability, Cordoba may take along his “sleepy” assistant Atty. Castelar to the CoA.

With Cordoba as CoA chairperson, his activities should be closely monitored by public interest and public transparency advocates. Letters to him will probably remain unanswered in much the same way that things were run in the NTC when he was its head.

Cordoba is said to have reneged on his promise to Congress to temporarily allow ABS-CBN to continue its broadcast operations notwithstanding the expiration of the network’s legislative franchise. “Unfortunately, no investigation of the complaint against ABS-CBN and Zoe was ever conducted, and Cordoba remains silent about his inaction.