House to proceed with deliberations on ABS-CBN's 25-year franchise

The House of Representatives will go straight to deliberating on the bills granting ABS-CBN a 25-year franchise instead of only a provisional one.

This was announced by Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano himself in a speech during the chamber's plenary session on Tuesday afternoon.

"I, and the House leadership, have decided to forego the provisional franchise but we will immediately proceed with the hearings for the 25-year franchise," Cayetano said.

Cayetano, along with seven other House leaders, authored House Bill 6732, which would grant ABS-CBN a provisional franchise until October 31, 2020.

The measure was approved on second reading Wednesday last week, the same day it was filed, and also approved by the House constituting as the Committee of the Whole.

However, it was returned to the plenary on Monday afternoon to accommodate additional interpellation and amendments from lawmakers.

Cayetano, in his speech, pointed out that the discussions on the ABS-CBN franchise had been taking the chamber's time too much when it should be deliberating on more important measures, such as on the government's response to COVID-19.

"Arguing that the fate and future of one private corporation, no matter how influential, cannot be waived against the welfare of the nation and the well-being of the people," he said.

"I still believe that dedicating all our efforts to defeating COVID-19 and giving our countrymen something to hope for is the right thing to do. And more importantly, this is the right thing to do now," he added.

Cayetano said that deciding on a highly-politicized issue such as the ABS-CBN franchise needs a fair and transparent process.

He reiterated that "fair, impartial, comprehensive and thorough" hearings should be made to sift through all the issues related to the TV network's franchise.

Cayetano said the House Committee on Legislative Franchise, chaired by Palawan Representative Franz Alvarez, should be the one to carry out the needed hearings for the ABS-CBN franchise issue.

"Let us give Chairman Chikoy Alvarez and our Committee on Legislative Franchise complete autonomy. Let us give them the task to carry out a fair, comprehensive, thorough hearing," he said.

"Let us direct our committee to immediately and continuously hold hearings until everyone is heard. And after everyone is heard, then we can decide," he added.

Cayetano likewise urged his colleagues to "vote on their conscience" once the hearings are done.

"This will require a lot of time. Time that we do not have. And so there will be sacrifices on our part if we hope to finish this without delay," he said.

"So we will multi-task... and that we all vote in accordance with our conscience and not with our politics," he added.

ABS-CBN went off the air on May 5 after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued a cease and desist order on its broadcast operations.

Its franchise expired on May 4.

The broadcast company has since challenged the NTC's order before the Supreme Court. — DVM, GMA News