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ABS-CBN franchise renewal pushed anew in Congress

Two congressional leaders are pushing to revive the franchise of ABS-CBN now that a year has passed since the network’s renewal application was overwhelmingly rejected by the House of Representatives.

Deputy Speakers Loren Legarda and Rufus Rodriguez renewed their support for the network giant and pushed for the refiling of the franchise renewal bill in the House.

“I believe the franchise bill must be refiled and of course it (ABS-CBN) must be opened to allow jobs to be reopened also,” Legarda said in the episode of “Agenda” on Cignal TV’s One News last Friday.

In the same interview, Legarda explained for the first time why she abstained when the House legislative franchise committee was voting on the media giant’s application for renewal despite being one of the authors of the ABS-CBN franchise bills.

“I had to abstain from the voting because I was advised of my ongoing shows, which was funded by government. I could not vote because that would be conflict of interest. That was the opinion of legal luminaries,” the Antique congresswoman said.

Legarda, a former broadcast journalist of the network, insisted that her being an author of the bill spoke of her position on the matter, saying she filed it “as a form of gratitude as well and I believe it was the right thing to do.”

However, another House leader voted in favor of ABS-CBN despite the risks of her vote – Deputy Speaker snd Batangas Rep. Vilma Santos-Recto.

Santos-Recto, one of the 11 congressmen in the dissenting vote, said she was willing to lose her House leadership position if it would be the consequence of her voting in favor of the network.

Rodriguez, for his part, also stood pat on his stand in favor of granting the franchise renewal application of ABS-CBN.

“The hearings would show that ABS-CBN and its officials have no violations. Everything was complied with. Agencies were there to testify. Everyone was there to witness,” the Cagayan de Oro congressman recalled.

Rodriguez, a former law dean, branded the decision of the House panel as an “injustice.”

Last February, the House leadership rejected the renewed bid to grant franchise to broadcast network ABS-CBN under the Duterte administration.

Speaker Lord Allan Velasco stressed that calls to revive the ABS-CBN franchise renewal bill would “have to wait until the next Congress.”

The Marinduque congressman explained that the House needs to prioritize measures to ensure recovery of the country’s economy and of the Filipino people from the recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Velasco said there are also measures left in the legislative agenda of the President that Congress needs to pass soon.

“On top of these priority legislation, we would like to see the passage of Bayanihan 3, as well as other economic bills geared toward rebuilding the Philippine economy,” he said.

Several lawmakers have filed bills seeking to revive the broadcast franchise of ABS-CBN, including Santos-Recto, Camarines Sur Rep. Gabriel Bordado and Senate President Vicente Sotto III.

But House committee on legislative franchises chairman Palawan Rep. Franz Alvarez said the issue was already “put to rest” when 70 members of the panel voted to deny the network’s bid on July 10 last year due to violations of the franchise by the network.

Like Velasco, Alvarez suggested that the ABS-CBN franchise issue is “best left to the next Congress.”

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2021/07/11/2111650/abs-cbn-franchise-renewal-pushed-anew-congress