Senate approves bill seeking non-expiration of franchises with pending renewal applications

The Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a bill that would prevent franchises with pending renewal applications from expiring.

Voting 21-0, the chamber passed Senate Bill 1530 seeking amendments to Section 18, Book VII, Chapter 3 of the Revised Administrative Code, which provides for the non-expiration of a license until a final determination by the granting agency is made, given that an application for renewal has been already been filed in a timely manner.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, the author of the measure, earlier said, franchises granted by Congress must also be covered by the provision.

The proposed amendment to the law states that there is only a "final determination" when an applicant has already been given a written notice of approval or denial of the franchise renewal.

Inaction on a pending application cannot be considered a denial, it added.

Drilon previously said that this measure would ensure that the applicants do not bear the brunt of the authorities' indecision or inaction on their application for renewal.

He filed the bill after media company ABS-CBN went off-air starting May 5, 2020 following an order from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

The NTC, despite its earlier commitment to grant a provisional authority to ABS-CBN, issued a cease and desist order against the company after its 25-year broadcast franchise expired on May 4, 2020 pending the final decision of Congress on its renewal.

In July 2020, a House of Representatives panel voted to deny the network's franchise application. — VBL, GMA News