7 SESSION DAYS LEFT

Prospect of granting provisional franchise to ABS-CBN getting tighter —Gatchalian

The chances of granting ABS-CBN Corporation a provisional franchise to resume operations soon is getting slimmer with the session adjournment nearing, Senate Committee on Public Services vice chairman Sherwin Gatchalian said Wednesday.

"With seven session days left in the legislative calendar, the prospects of getting the provisional franchise approved before the sine die adjournment is getting tighter," Gatchalian said in a statement.

"I was hoping yesterday that the short term, provisional franchise for ABS-CBN would be transmitted to the Senate so that the network can immediately operate and join in the fight against COVID-19," he added.

Gatchalian underscored that the unimpeded flow of information is crucial in the country's fight against the pandemic.

The House of Representatives on Tuesday said it will tackle a 25-year franchise for ABS-CBN instead of the initially proposed provisional franchise valid until October 31, 2020.

House Bill 6732 was referred back to the plenary despite hurdling the first and second reading, on the same day it was filed, last week.

Now the lower chamber's leadership has decided to "forego" the provisional measure and tasked the House Committee on Legislative Franchise to hear the bills granting a 25-year franchise for ABS-CBN.

Meanwhile, Senator Sonny Angara said the Senate has to respect the action of its co-equal house.

"We don't know the reason for the abrupt U-turn in direction. We can only appeal to our fellow legislators to consider the plight of the thousands of employees as they debate the issuance of a legislative franchise," he said.

"It's quite difficult for people to find jobs with the economic downturn. That's something we legislators have the power to address," he added.

ABS-CBN Corporation, which has been off-air in the past two weeks, may be forced to lay off some of its workers in August if it will not be able to resume operations soon, according to the company's president and CEO Carlo Katigbak.

ABS-CBN went off-air on May 5 after the National Telecommunications Commission issued a cease and desist order instead of a provisional authority to operate, which the latter initially committed to grant while the franchise renewal of the media company is still pending in Congress.

The network’s franchise expired on May 4 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. —KG, GMA News