ABS-CBN franchise hearings to go beyond 2022 polls — Cayetano

MANILA, Philippines — House deliberations on the renewal of the 25-year legislative franchise of TV giant ABS-CBN will go beyond the 2022 elections, according to Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, who views the congressional issue as an opportunity to balance democracy, media freedom, politics and big business.

“The ABS-CBN issue is a gateway or is a big gateway; is an opportunity for us to balance democracy, media freedom of the press, the role of media, the role of big business and of political actors in our country,” Cayetano told reporters over the weekend.

In doing so, he gave assurances that House deliberations on ABS-CBN’s legislative franchise shall go beyond the 2022 presidential polls.

He said the House leadership wants to make sure that the broadcast network will no longer take sides during elections. 

“If we grant them (ABS-CBN) the franchise for the next 25 years, what reforms shall they undertake to make sure there is fair coverage and they won’t interfere with the election? So, we will have fair hearings,” the administration stalwart and ally of President Duterte said in mixed English and Filipino. 

He said the bottomline is for all media entities to be neutral and to never take political sides.

“So, in our hearings we will tackle all issues – the employees, how and if and why there was intervention by management (of ABS-CBN) in the 2010 and 2016 elections,” Cayetano said, as he and Duterte claimed ABS-CBN obviously had their favored candidate in the 2016 presidential elections. 

Cayetano was Duterte’s running-mate in that elections.

Last week, Duterte had accepted the apology of the Lopez-owned TV network over its misgivings.

On Feb. 26, the House of Representatives instructed the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to grant ABS-CBN a provisional franchise. 

In a two-page letter, Cayetano and Palawan Rep. Franz Alvarez, who chairs the House committee on legislative franchises, advised NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba to “grant ABS-CBN Corp. a provisional authority to operate until May 4.” 

May 4, 2020 is the expiry date of its franchise. House leaders said the NTC can issue a provisional franchise to ABS-CBN until such time that the “House/Congress has made a decision on its application.”

But they maintained that Congress “has the exclusive original jurisdiction and authority to act on franchise applications.” 

“Please include in their respective provisional authorities terms and conditions you deem appropriate to protect public interest consistent with applicable laws and regulations,” Cayetano and Alvarez wrote. 

Among those to be covered by the provisional authority to operate are the network’s subsidiaries and/or affiliates like ABS-CBN Convergence, Sky Cable Corp. and Amcara Broadcasting Network Inc. 

Cayetano also said he respects the opinion of former chief justice Reynato Puno who declared that ABS-CBN cannot operate without any franchise from NTC. But he argued that if they have the power to grant a franchise, then it only follows that a provisional authority is legal.