House approves bill granting provisional franchise to ABS-CBN
In an unprecedented move, the House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on second reading House Bill 6732 proposing to grant ABS-CBN
Corporation a provisional legislative franchise that will allow the network to resume operations until October 31,2020.
Approval of the measure came less than three hours after the Lower House convened itself into a Committee of the Whole that swiftly approved the bill and submitted its committee report recommending affirmative plenary action on the measure.
Authored by Speaker Alan
Peter Cayetano and other key leaders of the chamber, HB 6732 was passed a few hours after being filed during a virtual plenary proceeding that had only about less than a dozen congressmen physically present.
Other authors included Deputy Speakers Dan Fernandez (NUP, Laguna); Raneo Abu (NP, Batangas); Roberto Puno (NUP, Antipolo City); Jose Antonio Sy-Alvarado (NUP, Bulacan); Neptali Gonzales II (NUP, Mandaluyong City); and Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr. (NP, Camarines Sur).
Upon on second reading, the bill gained additional authors who crossed partylines to support it.
HB 6732 is expected to be sent back to the plenary next week for approval on third reading.
Before the committee approval, Cayetano delivered a sponsorship speech extensively justifying the House leadership’s decision to push for filing and fastracking of the bill’s approval.
In his sponsorship speech, Fernandez underscored the necessity of passing HB 6732 while the country faces the threat of the deadly COVID-19.
“People need to exercise the right to access all reliable sources of information, especially at this time of pandemic. We cannot afford to deny this right to our people who are being threatened with death and grave ailment by COVID-19,” explained Fernandez.
Cayetano explained that the grant of temporary franchise will pave the way for a careful study by Congress of the measures proposing to grant the giant network another 25 years legislative franchise.
It is expected that both the Lower House and the Senate would have reached their respective decisions on ABS-CBN’s fate by the time the provisional franchise expires five months from now.
Cayetano explained that the decision of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to issue a cease-and-desist order that prompted ABS-CBN to sign off on May 5, gave the
Lower House no choice but to take swift action on the franchise bills notwithstanding the fact that their bid to fasttrack legislative measures that would help address the COVID-19 threat.
“Through this measure, we hope to strike a balance between the immediate needs amid this crisis and the duty of Congress to ensure accountability to our present laws,” authors of the measure said in justifying the bid to speed up its approval.
Cayetno said granting ABS-CBN a provisional franchise until October 31, 2020 will allow Congress to “hear the issues being raised for or against the renewal, and assess with complete impartiality and fairness, whether or not the network shall be granted a franchise for another 25 years.”
“We cannot, in good conscience, sweep the accusations under the rug,” he stressed.
The House official also took time in assailing the alleged “betrayal of the NTC and the unconstitutional meddling of the Solicitor General” when they allegedly conspired to close down the network.
Cayetano recalled that NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba had personally guaranteed the Lower House that the Kapamilya network would be allowed to continue broadcasting beyond the expiration of its 25-year legisaltive franchise on May 4.
However, the NTC reportedly succumbed to the threat of filing of criminal charges aired by Solicitor General Jose Calida if its officials will not close down ABS-CBN as soon as its franchise authority ended.
Cayetano also took a swipe at the network’s supporters for decrying the closure of ABS-CBN as an affront to the constitutionally mandated freedom of the press.
“The fact that ABS-CBN is still able to broadcast its content even after its franchise has been peremptorily terminated shows that this issue is not, nor has it even been about silencing media or curtailing the freedom of the press,” he said.