On June 1, the House committees on legislative franchises as well as good government and public accountability resumed its hearing on the proposed legislations for the 25-year extension of ABS-CBN’s franchise. Before the hearing even started, #IbalikangABSCBN became a trending topic on Twitter, with netizens expressing their support for the network.

It was almost a month since ABS-CBN was shut down on May 5, when National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) issued the network a cease-and-desist order and the House of Representatives (HOR) has yet to deliberate on the bills, some pending for three years, as the franchise expired on May 4.

Two former ABS-CBN news reporters, a producer and a celebrity and now members of the HOR defended the network in the hearing. In the work they did as employees of ABS-CBN, they shared how “went above and beyond the obligations of a broadcast network” with its many advocacy platforms and disaster response. They also expressed concern for the 11,000 employees who might lose their jobs if the network’s franchise is not renewed.

After skipping previous Congress hearings on bills for the franchise extension of ABS-CBN, Solicitor General Jose Calida joined the hearing. He cited Calida on World Press Freedom Day warned NTC officials that they could face graft charges if they gave ABS-CBN a provisional permit , to which NTC responded with a cease-and-desist order to the network the following day. Calida denied he meddled with NTC’s decision. He also represented the NTC, as legal counsel, on ABS-CBN’s petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court (SC) against the telecom regulatory body’s cease-and-desist order. Earlier in February, he asked the SC to nullify ABS-CBN’s franchise due to alleged legal issues like foreign ownership and illegal pay-per-view. In previous hearings he skipped, he invoked the sub judice rule, which restricts comments that might influence the court due to a pending quo warranto petition or “as the statutory counsel of both the Republic and the NTC” in Calida’s explanation for skipping the May 26 hearing.

In the hearing today, Calida reiterated allegations of ABS-CBN’s violations of its franchise law that is contained in his quo warranto petition.

ABS-CBN’s President and Chief Executive Officer Carlo Katigbak answered allegations against the network:

  1. The network was not sold but taken away from its owners upon the declaration of Martial Law in 1972. The Lopezes did not just suddenly regain the network, but the Lopezes regained it after the People Power Revolution toppled the Marcos dictatorship and democracy was restored.
  2. ABS-CBN’s issuance of Philippine Depositary Receipts, which has the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission, is not a violation of the law and a practice of other networks whose franchise extension has been passed
  3. ABS-CBN chairman emeritus Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III is a Filipino citizen, born to Filipino parents. (The Department of Justice and the Bureau of Immigration have both recognized the Philippine citizenship from birth of Mr. Lopez as contained in Identification Certificate No. 0069 dated 1 October 2002, the network said in its May 11 statement).

Lopez was also invited to the next hearing. Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta said Lopez should attend the hearings “as a matter of courtesy.”

In the hearing on May 26, Katigbak relayed that the network would soon release a list of employees who would lose their jobs and relieve them by August if the network could not resume its operations soon. He also insisted that the network did not commit any franchise violations. In their various

Also in the May 26 hearing, Marcoleta, who represented those against the granting of the franchise to the network, invoked Section 11 of Article XII of the 1987 Constitution, which states that: “No franchise, certificate, or any other form of authorization for the operation of a public utility shall be granted… for a longer period than fifty years.” He argued that a franchise should not be granted to ABS-CBN since the network has been using the airwaves for more than 50 years. This claim was quickly debunked by his own colleagues, explaining that the 50-year cap on franchises applies to every franchise granted, with broadcast networks allowed to apply for renewal.

The next House hearing is set on Wednesday morning.

Netizens showed their support for the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN through the call #IbalikAngABSCBN.

 

 

 

 

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