MANILA, Philippines — For the first time, ABS-CBN will answer today all the issues related to its franchise renewal application in a public hearing at the Senate, following years of threats from President Duterte that culminated in the filing of a quo warranto petition by Solicitor General Jose Calida before the Supreme Court.
The Senate committee on public services, led by Sen. Grace Poe, will tackle the franchise renewal of the country’s largest media conglomerate even as the House of Representatives has yet to start deliberating on several bills that call for renewal.
“There is no violation of the Constitution with regard to the hearing of the committee on public services on the issues surrounding the franchise of ABS-CBN,” Sen. Sonny Angara said yesterday.
“The hearing by the committee is only meant to facilitate the process and in the case of the franchise of ABS-CBN, to hear the issues being raised against the network so that when the time comes, we, as senators, would already have a better grasp of the matter,” he said.
He stressed that no action would be made by the Senate in plenary “until such time that the House of Representatives acts on the bill and sends it over to us.”
Calida on Feb. 10 asked the SC “to forfeit the franchise” of ABS-CBN and its subsidiary, ABS-CBN Convergence, which operates the networks’ TVPlus and now defunct ABS-CBN mobile. It was not clear how Calida’s petition would affect the pending franchise bills.
Publicly listed ABS-CBN has lost more than 60 percent of its share value since Duterte assumed office in June 2016. Last Friday, it closed lower by 9.82 percent at P19.66 following negative sentiments.
ABS-CBN—which has interests in film production, music recording, publishing, cable TV, and theme parks—has a market capitalization of P18.8 billion. It has paid P70.5 billion in taxes for the past 17 years and has been cited as one of the top 200 non-individual taxpayers nationwide.
“To our lawmakers, the future of ABS-CBN lies in your hands. We count on your pledge that we will be given the opportunity to answer the issues around our franchise. We pray that you recognize all the good that ABS-CBN has done for the country,” ABS-CBN president and CEO Carlo Katigbak had said in a statement last week.
“We see no reason why ABS-CBN’s services should be stopped. Nevertheless, we are ready to follow the process as required by law,” Katigbak said.
Public support
The 66-year-old entertainment and media conglomerate drew the ire of Duterte during the 2016 presidential election for allegedly refusing to air his campaign commercials.
But the complaint from the Office of the Solicitor General and the non-action of the House of Representatives on the franchise renewal bills were seen as acts of revenge against ABS-CBN.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon also defended the chamber’s move to hear the franchise issue despite the warning from Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano that the legislative proceeding is unconstitutional.
With only seven session days before the adjournment of Congress on March 11, Drilon said taking up the franchise of ABS-CBN is made even more necessary.
He added that the hearing should also rule on the need to extend the validity of the franchise of ABS-CBN as he maintained that the broadcasting network cannot operate without a franchise. The 25-year franchise of the broadcasting network is set to expire on March 30.
ABS-CBN chief operating officer for broadcast Cory Vidanes has expressed gratitude, even to TV rivals, for the various support that has been given to the network.
“We are inspired by the positive words from government officials, fellow journalists here and abroad, industry organizations, academe, church, artists, all Kapamilya, Kapuso (GMA-7), Kapatid (TV5), friends, fans and viewers,” Vidanes said.
Meanwhile, Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said President Duterte is not interested in today’s Senate panel hearing as Malacañang steps back from lawmakers’ discussions on the issue.
Panelo over the weekend said the Chief Executive has a lot of work to do and is not likely to monitor the legislative proceedings.
The Senate public services committee is scheduled to hold a hearing today despite the opposition of Speaker Cayetano, who claimed that the move would violate the Constitution. Cayetano, an ally of Duterte, has argued that under the Constitution, all bills of local application like franchise measures should emanate from the House of Representatives.
But Senate President Vicente Sotto III disputed this, saying the hearing would focus on resolutions on whether ABS-CBN’s franchise should be approved. Some senators have also pointed out that it has been standard parliamentary practice for the Senate to conduct parallel hearings on bills that should emanate from the House.
In a radio interview, Panelo reiterated that Malacañang would not meddle in the activities of Congress. He also declined to comment on the Senate’s decision to cancel its regular session to give way to the hearing on the television network’s franchise.
“That’s their (Senate) decision. You know that the Palace does not interfere with the moves of Congress, the Senate, the House of Representatives. We have nothing to do with that. It’s their turf. We’ll not intrude into that,” he said.
“Haven’t we stated our position on that? That’s the job of the solicitor general. Let him do his job. Whatever the Supreme Court says, we will just comply,” Panelo added.
ABS-CBN’s franchise is set to expire on March 30. The broadcast giant is facing an uncertain fate as the House, which is dominated by allies of the President, has yet to hold a hearing on bills renewing its franchise. Last December, Duterte, who has accused ABS-CBN of swindling and biased reporting, said he would see to it that the network would be “out.” Panelo had claimed that the remark was just an expression of his “personal displeasure” with the network.
Earlier this month, the Office of the Solicitor General asked the Supreme Court to invalidate the legislative franchises of ABS-CBN Corp. and its subsidiary ABS-CBN Convergence, citing what it described as “highly abusive practices” of the network. ABS-CBN, the OSG claimed, went beyond the scope of its franchise by broadcasting for a fee. The top government lawyer has also accused the Lopez-led network of violating the Constitution by allowing foreign investors to take part in the ownership of a Philippine media entity.
The TV giant has denied the allegations and maintained that all its broadcast offerings have received the necessary government and regulatory approvals. ABS-CBN Holdings’ Philippine Deposit Receipts were evaluated and approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Philippine Stock Exchange before public offering, company officials said. – With Alexis Romero
Various journalists groups, educational institutions and human rights advocates have slammed the petition filed by OSG, calling it a threat to press freedom and an attempt to silence media entities perceived as threats to the government.