House Committee of the Whole OKs provisional ABS-CBN franchise bill

In a sudden turn of events, the House Committee of the Whole on Wednesday approved the measure seeking to grant ABS-CBN a provisional franchise until October 31, 2020.

During its virtual plenary session, the House, convening into the Committee of the Whole, approved via a vote of ayes and nayes House Bill 6732, filed no less than by Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and seven other lawmakers.

In filing the resolution, the authors hoped that providing ABS-CBN a provisional franchise will allow the House and the Senate to hear the issues surrounding the renewal of the broadcast company's previous franchise, which expired on May 4.

The expiration of the franchise gave the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) reason to issue a cease and desist order against ABS-CBN on May 5.

The broadcast company went off air on the same day.

In a statement, ABS-CBN welcome the House move and said it will respond to issues raised against it.

"We look forward to participating in the process of our franchise renewal and stand ready to respond to the issues that have been raised against the network, its owners, management, and employees," it said.

Cayetano himself, along with Deputy Speaker Dan Fernandez, sponsored the measure on the floor.

In his sponsorship speech, Cayetano slammed the NTC for forcing the House to deal with the ABS-CBN franchise right away even as he said there are more important matters to work on.

The NTC earlier gave its commitment to the House Committee on Legislative Franchises that it would grant ABS-CBN a provisional authority to operate beyond the expiration of its franchise.

Yet no provisional authority was issued and instead, the NTC ordered ABS-CBN to cease its broadcast operations. The broadcast firm has since asked the Supreme Court to nillify the NTC order.

"If only the NTC had said from the outset that they could not give the network a provisional authority to operate beyond the term of the franchise, then we would have not relied on their word," Cayetano said.

"Their actions are not only an affront to the institution, it also delays the discussion and passage of crucial legislation that our people sorely need," he added.

Cayetano said that while this really is not the right time to deal with the ABS-CBN franchise, he was reminded of what his father, former Senator Rene Cayetano said that "it is always the right to do what is right."

"It is right to hear all sides before passing judgement. It is right to ensure that our constitutional freedoms are not just protected, they are also strengthened. It is right to prioritize the welfare of the many over the interests of the few," he said.

Cayetano maintained that there will be fair, impartial and thorough hearings on the ABS-CBN franchise bill.

"There will be no rush to judgement. Both the praise for and the charges against the network will be heard and will be put on public record," he said.

"Whatever the outcome of these hearings will be, there will be reforms. There must be, not just a New, but a Better Normal. Not only for ABS-CBN, but for the entire media industry," he added.

The approval of the ABS-CBN provisional franchise bill in the Committee of the Whole is only the second major development in the long-standing issue on the franchise of the broadcast company in the House.

The House Committee on Legislative Franchise only formally deliberated on the issue on March 10 after languishing in the chamber for several months.

At least 11 other measures were filed to renew the franchise of ABS-CBN in the House this 18th Congress. — RSJ, GMA News