MBC asks Congress to renew ABS-CBN franchise

MANILA, Philippines — The Makati Business Club (MBC) yesterday called on lawmakers to renew the franchise of media firm ABS-CBN Corp. to show that the rule of law is being followed and help attract investors in the country.

In a statement yesterday, MBC reiterated its call to legislators for the renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise, saying this would show that the government provides fair treatment to businesses in the country.

It said “equal treatment of all companies – especially by regulators, prosecutors, and lawmakers – will signal that rule of law prevailed, encouraging foreign and local investors at a time when we most need their help to create new jobs.”

MBC also said a franchise renewal would contribute in efforts to help the economy get back on its feet.

“Aside from protecting press freedom, keeping ABS-CBN on the air will preserve one of the public’s biggest sources of news and information, especially important in the whole-of-nation fight against COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), as well as a major platform for businesses to advertise their goods and services, which would help revive the economy, preserve jobs in those businesses, and increase the taxes the government needs for public services,” the group said.

ABS-CBN went off air on May 5, following a cease and desist ordered issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) using as basis the expiration of the network’s 25-year franchise.

The network has filed a petition with the Supreme Court questioning the NTC’s cease and desist order. Last week, NTC ordered ABS-CBN subsidiary SkyCable Corp. to stop the operations of its direct broadcast satellite service called SkyDirect.

NTC also directed ABS-CBN to halt its digital TV transmission using Channel 43 on TVPlus.

As the House of Representatives joint panel that is investigating the alleged franchise violations of ABS-CBN nears the last phase, Palawan Rep. Franz Alvarez hinted of a “voting” on Thursday.

But Alvarez, who co-chairs the joint panel with Bulacan Rep. Jonathan Sy-Alvarado of the House committee on good government, clarified that this will “depend” on the outcome of this week’s hearing which will delve on the Lopez-owned network’s “political biases” like those in the May 2016 presidential polls as pointed out by Rep. Mike Defensor.

Should the House members vote overwhelmingly and “approve” a new legislative franchise for ABS-CBN, this will then be taken up in plenary “after the State of the Nation Address” of President Duterte.

House officials have called on the National Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Internal Revenue to conduct an investigation on allegations of tax evasion and using dummy corporations like the Amcara Broadcasting Network.

“There appears to be an element of fraud against the legislative powers of Congress,” House Deputy Majority Leader Jesus Crispin Remulla said, in reference to ABS-CBN’s suspicious “block-timer arrangement” with its sister company Amcara.

According to the Cavite congressman, this purported arrangement, which no less than National Telecommunications Commission chief Gamaliel Cordoba declared to be one and the same as ABS-CBN, is a circumvention of Congress’ legislative powers.

Amcara, whose own 25-year legislative franchise is expiring in November, continued to air ABS-CBN’s programs through Channel 43 and TV Plus, even after the NTC issued a cease and desist order against the Kapamilya network on May 5 due to its expired franchise.

Rep. Eric Go Yap, chairman of the powerful House appropriations committee, also highlighted the facts that ABS-CBN chose to establish distribution companies in Cayman Islands, Luxembourg and Hungary.

“What does tax haven mean? It is a country where taxes are levied at a low rate. Various reading materials state tax havens offer themselves as a place where non-residents can escape high taxes by putting their assets or businesses in that jurisdiction,” he noted.

“Exactly what ABS-CBN has been doing for a long time. They can say whatever they want, they can say that they just want to be competitive in the international market but at the end of the day, they were able to avoid paying a 30 percent tax in our country,” Yap said.

Defensor, who represents the party-list Anakalusugan, expressed support for the NBI probe.

Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta, for his part, wanted the BIR to dig deeper into the tax evasion schemes of the country’s largest TV network, after records showed that the company fought off five tax cases that reached the Court of Tax Appeals.

Out of the P2.5 billion tax dues that the BIR assessed, ABS-CBN only paid a paltry P153 million – or 3.8 percent of the total assessed tax due – after both parties reached an out-of-court settlement.

“We might as well investigate this compromise agreement,” the Sagip congressman said. Delon Porcalla