Respect House discretion on ABS-CBN franchise bill — Speaker

MANILA, Philippines — Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano has asked senators to respect the discretion and actions of the House of Representatives on the franchise renewal application of broadcast giant ABS-CBN.

“We want to work with you, to build our nation, but respect our timing and manner of holding our hearings. In other words, let’s all play nice and not just pretend to be nice,” Cayetano stressed before the weekend.

“Allow us to do our jobs. Remember it is always easier to get 24 people to agree than 300. Remember we represent specific constituencies and sectors and that is why the Constitution provides that franchise bills will exclusively emanate from the House,” he told senators.

The Speaker made the appeal as several senators questioned the bill passed by the House allowing the network to return on air by granting a provisional franchise until October while Congress deliberates on its franchise renewal application.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III questioned why House Bill 6732 provided a franchise for only five months when legislative franchise is supposed to be valid for 25 years, while Senate Majority Leader Miguel Zubiri wanted the provisional franchise extended to one year.

However, this was addressed by Cayetano in his sponsorship speech, saying the five-month period is the time the chamber plans to devote to hear and deliberate on the ABS-CBN franchise renewal bills.

The House leadership also defended the legality of the approval of the bill, which was questioned by opposition Sen. Francis Pangilinan who alleged that the same-day approval on first and second reading last Wednesday violated the Constitution.

Pangilinan specifically cited Article VI, Section 26 (2) of the Charter, which provides that “no bill passed by either House shall become a law unless it has passed three readings on separate days.”

But Deputy Speaker and Mandaluyong City Rep. Neptali Gonzales II rebutted Pangilinan and said the senator misread the law.

“What the Constitution requires is that the first, second and third reading must be done on separate days. It does not require three separate days,” he explained.

Gonzales, also a lawyer, stressed that a bill may be passed on first and second reading on the same day or on separate days “depending on the decision of the House plenary.” The House has in many instances passed bills on first and second readings on the same day.

He said the only requirement in the Constitution is for the bill to be passed on third reading three days after distribution of printed copies to lawmakers – except when the measure is certified urgent by the President.

If the bill is certified urgent by the President, its approval on second and third reading may be done on the same day, he pointed out.

“In other words, there is nothing wrong for the House to lump together in the same day the first and second readings of a bill and conduct the third reading on a separate day because of the three-day rule, unless certified by the President,” Gonzales stressed.

Cayetano said the House is set to pass HB 6732 on third reading and transmit it to the Senate next week. He expects the Senate to also pass the measure swiftly before Congress adjourns on June 3.

The Speaker also expects President Duterte to approve the measure once passed by Congress and that the network could be back on air by early next month.

“Our President is a lawyer. If he asks me, I’ll tell him that this is for due process. I’m not sure if he will veto it or not, but I know the President, he is a lawyer and he will choose fairness and due process,” he said over radio dzMM.

Meanwhile, Cayetano addressed critics – both within the House and from media – that blamed his alleged inaction on the franchise bills for the shutdown.

He slammed a few fellow congressmen for “losing objectivity” in pushing for the renewal of the franchise, referring to Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman and Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza who both publicly criticized him over the issue.

“Yes, this bill is important. No question about that. But is it so important that you would lose all sense of objectivity and propriety? How dare you belittle the tremendous work this Congress has done in the past 10 months? Shame on you for insulting your own House and calling your colleagues inutile, despite having passed (10 laws since July last year), eight of which by the way are part of the President’s legislative priorities,” he argued.

As for critical members of the media, he accused them of being “propagandists.”

“When you blindly call for the approval of the franchise without having heard all sides of the story, then you show yourselves not as advocates of a fair and balanced presentation of the facts as journalists are sworn to be, but as plain and simple propagandists. And I cannot respect that. Do not weaponize this issue for your own personal agenda. That is a disservice to the very public in whose name you claim to stand,” Cayetano stressed.