Solons want ABS-CBN franchise elevated to plenary, say panel ruling not yet final

Several lawmakers on Saturday said that the decision of the House Committee on Legislative Franchises denying the franchise application of ABS-CBN is not yet final as they intend to elevate the issue to the plenary for debates.

In a virtual meeting, Buhay Party-list Representative Lito Atienza said the decision of the House panel does not represent the majority of the 305 members of the lower chamber.

“I always take the position na ‘yung desisyon ng committee ay hindi final ‘yan. ‘Yan ay isang rekomendasyon ng isang committee of three. In fact, only two concurred and one dissented so dalawa lang ang tao ang gumawa ng committee recommendation,” Atienza said.

“Plenary should be given the chance to review the vote taken by the committee. To me, it does not represent the whole. To me, it represented the opinion of two people concurred by 70,” the Buhay Party-list congressman said.

“We had to reopen the issue and debate on it openly. Let’s take it up until we reach the plenary,” Atienza said.

For her part, ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro emphasized that bringing the ABS-CBN franchise application to the plenary will level the playing field and “bring the score back to 0-0.”

“Wala na yang 70. Pagdating sa plenary zero-zero ang score,” Castro said, referring to the 70 members of the House franchise committee who voted to adopt the resolution of the technical working group it created recommending the denial of ABS-CBN's franchise application.

ABS-CBN went off air on May 5 after the National Telecommunications Commission issued a cease and desist order against the network after its previous franchise expired the day before

Agusan del Norte Rep. Lawrence Fortun stressed that the process of how the members of the House panel voted on the TWG’s recommendation was somehow unusual from what the chamber has been doing before.

“‘Yung sa technical working group medyo kakaiba ito doon sa nakasanayan nating daloy o proseso,” Fortun said.

“Usually tinatalakay muna ang laman ng findings ng technical working group. Iniisa isa natin at nagpo-propose tayo ng amendments bago pinagbobotohan... dito pinagbotohan na agad ng mga miyembro,” Fortun said.

The Agusan del Norte lawmaker said the voting was rushed.

This was echoed by Atienza who claimed that the TWG report was “pre-meditated.”

“Twelve days [of hearing] isa-summarize sa isang report hindi magagawa ng isang gabi yan. Meaning gawa na ‘yung report. Para sakin questionable,” Atienza said.

“‘Yung summation, andaming paratang wala naman napatunayan tapos ang verdict guilty. Para sakin very clear mistrial ang tawag diyan,” the Buhay Party-list lawmaker said.

Gabriella Party-list Rep.Arlene Brosas said that bringing the issue to the plenary will give the entire House the opportunity to scrutinize the TWG report.

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano earlier said that it was possible to bring the ABS-CBN franchise to the plenary but the approval of the entire House is required.

Fortun said “the house as whole has the opportunity to be on the right side of history by way of correcting the mistake of a committee.”

Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate, likewise, said the fight is not yet over for the ABS-CBN franchise.

Parañaque City Rep. Joy Tambunting hoped that bringing the issue to the plenary will bring back the confidence of the business sector to the country as well as bring back the jobs lost due to the franchise denial.

Atienza emphasized that the House franchise panel committed an error of judgment and a misappropriation or misrepresentation of facts. -MDM, GMA News