TWO authors of bills seeking to extend ABS-CBN Corporation’s franchise on Wednesday blamed the leadership of the House of Representatives for the closure of the giant television network.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, a member of the opposition, said the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) “must not be used as the scapegoat for the patent failure of the leadership of the House of Representatives to resolutely push for the seasonable renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise.”
“There is no other solution to the dilemma of ABS-CBN than the immediate renewal of its franchise now that the Congress is in session. I have repeatedly warned that Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano’s proffered solution for NTC to grant ABS-CBN a provisional authority to operate, despite the lapse of its franchise, is against the law and jurisprudence,” he said in a statement.
On Tuesday, the NTC, apparently under pressure by the Office of the Solicitor General, ordered broadcast network ABS-CBN to cease operations despite giving the House the assurance that the network will be issued a provisional authority to allow it to continue operations pending House deliberations on the various bills seeking to extend its franchise to another 25 years.
The network’s franchise expired on Monday, May 4.
Solicitor General Jose Calida on Sunday warned the NTC against issuing the provisional authority. On Wednesday, Calida said Congress is to blame for the shutdown.
“Why blame NTC when they are only following the law? Without a valid and subsisting franchise from Congress, the NTC cannot allow any broadcasting entity from operating in the country,” Calida said in a statement.
“The bill renewing ABS-CBN’s franchise has been pending in Congress since 2016. The question we should be asking here is why hasn’t Congress acted on it? Who is at fault here? he added.
Cayetano, who was the one who secured the NTC’s assurance, has yet to comment on the regulatory body’s move to backtrack from its commitment to the House.
Lagman said Section 16 of Republic Act No. 7925 or the “Public Telecommunications Policy Act” clearly provides that “no person shall commence or conduct the business of being a public telecommunications entity without first obtaining a franchise.”
“It appears that Speaker Cayetano and Commissioner Gamaliel Cordova of NTC were playing charades because after Cordova undertook to grant the provisional authority, the NTC nonetheless issued the cease and desist order for ABS-CBN to stop operations,” Lagman said.
He said the closure of the network giant, which could have been averted by the timely congressional renewal of its franchise, “is a flagrant derogation of the freedom of the press.”
Another author of the franchise bills, Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza, blamed the Speaker and apologized to the public “for the failure of Congress to do its job.”
“Kasalanan namin ito eh. Kasalanan ng Kongreso ito but more important, I’d like to say, squarely, kasalanan ni Speaker Cayetano ito. Pagkukulang niya ito sa bayan (This is our fault. It’s the fault of this Congress but more importantly, Id’s like to say squarely that this is Speaker Cayetano’s fault. It’s his shortcoming to the people,” Atienza told ANC.
Atienza said Cayetano will have a lot to explain, warning the Speaker that “this issue will hound him because he was the one who did not do his job.”
“Even the President kept on reminding him to do your job, magtrabaho kayo, aksyunan ninyo ‘yan (work on it, act on it already). What did we do? Nothing,” Atienza said.
The House leadership earlier said it will not be affected by “outside pressure” meant to force it to hear the network’s franchise renewal at the soonest time possible even if the bills have been pending with the House since 2014 during the 17th Congress because there are other more pressing matters pending.
President Duterte has been criticizing the network, and had even threatened to close it, over its failure to air some of his political ads in the 2016 presidential campaign period.
Two months ago, the House committee on legislative franchises scheduled a hearing after the President accepted the apology of the media network last February 26 while rejecting the P2.6-million refund for its failure to air some of the political ads during the campaign for the 2016 presidential elections.
Last February 24, the panel held an informal proceeding to tackle the ABS-CBN franchise bills, wherein the panel asked stakeholders to submit their position papers. On March 10, Cordoba told the panel, “Barring a gross violation of its franchise of the NTC rules and regulations, the NTC will follow the latest advice of the DOJ (Department of Justice) and let ABS-CBN continue operations based on equity.”
‘AMBUSHED”
Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor, chair of the House committee on accounts, defended the Speaker and slammed those who are blaming the House leadership, pointing out that they, too, were members of the previous Congress which sat on the franchise renewal bills.
“Unfortunately, those who cry foul the hardest are those who were already members of Congress when ABS-CBN first applied for their renewal. It’s unfair to us 160 new members who had nothing to do with the bill which has been pending for six years,” he said in a statement issued by the Office of the Speaker.
“I think it is only fair, that we ask our colleagues who were here then and who are the most vocal now – what did you do then? If you truly believe that this is an issue of press freedom, then why didn’t you speak up the way that you are doing now?” Defensor added.
Defensor said Congress was “ambushed” by the NTC and slammed the “unconstitutional meddling of the SolGen (Jose Calida) to the extent that he pressured the NTC to go against the DOJ, the Senate, and their own word given under oath.”
“(This) is a disgrace and an affront to the entire Congress. Yet there are still those among us who choose to side with them against the rest of the membership,” he said.
Defensor said the House and committee leaderships have assured stakeholders and the public that there will be a fair, impartial, thorough, and comprehensive hearing “where everyone for or against will be given a chance to speak.”
He, however, maintained that Congress “should be tackling more important issues, instead of a private bill that has been languishing in these chambers for the past two administrations.”
“This is especially true today as we face a worldwide pandemic that has infected millions and killed hundreds of thousands around the world. Yet here we are. Wasting valuable time – all because a few rogue administration officials have taken it upon themselves to subvert the process for their own political ends,” he said.
REMEDY
Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez on Wednesday filed bill seeking to grant ABS-CBN a fresh 25-year franchise and a joint resolution granting it a provisional franchise valid until June 30, 2022, while Congress is deliberating on the other measure to remedy the NTC’s cease and desist order.
Rodriguez also has a pending a resolution extending the ABS-CBN franchise for one year, which was among at least 11 related proposals pending with the House committee on legislative franchises.
“It has to be a new grant and no longer a renewal, since the radio-TV station’s franchise already expired midnight of last May 4,” he said.
Rodriguez said it was unfortunate NTC “chose to ignore the collective voice of the House and the Senate for it to issue a provisional authority to ABS-CBN to allow it to pursue its broadcast services.”
NO ROOM FOR REPRESSION
In a statement, Vice President Leni Robredo lambasted the administration for allegedly clamping down on the press while the country is grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said there is no room for repression and personal interest in times when Filipinos should be helping each other.
Robredo said all social institutions, including the media, “should be united under a single purpose: to ensure the safety of everyone against COVID-19.
“The free flow of information literally saves lives. Closing down ABS-CBN costs lives, on top of unnecessarily burdening the thousands who will lose their jobs,” she said.
While it closed down the giant network, Robredo pointed out that the administration has allowed Philippine offshore gambling operators (POGOs) to continue operations. She said it is not difficult to determine which of the two are truly helping the country in responding to the crisis.
Calida said as the NTC’s legal counsel, the solicitor general “has the duty to advise the NTC of what is legal or not. We will be abdicating our duty to the NTC if we don’t advise them of the legal consequences of what they are doing.”
Calida hailed the NTC decision as the triumph of the rule of law. He said the Constitution is clear that a broadcasting entity requires a franchise from Congress before it can operate.
REVERSING THE ORDER
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said President Duterte can reverse the NTC order.
“As head of the Executive Branch, all agencies are under the control of the President. He may modify, amend, recall or revoke any decision issued by his subordinates. He has total control of the Executive Department as the chief executive,” Guevarra told CNN Philippines.
The NTC is a quasi-judicial body under the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
Guevarra later clarified it is a general rule and not as if the NTC decision can be appealed with the Office of the President. He said the cease-and-desist order is within the NTC’s regulatory powers.
“When I say that the President as chief executive has control over all agencies under the Executive Department, I am saying that as a general proposition but do not mean that NTC decisions are appealable to the Office of the President,” Guevarra said.
“It’s useless to discuss this as the President has said he will not interfere with the NTC decision,” he added.
Earlier, Guevarra stood by his position that the NTC can grant provisional authority to the network to continue to operate even after its franchise expires on May 4.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said President Duterte has no authority to reverse the NTC order and will not certify the franchise bills as urgent as these involve a private company.
“I have not seen any franchise bill to have been certified as urgent by the President. In that sense, no certification is forthcoming because it is, for all intents and purposes, a private bill that grants a privilege to a private company. I don’t think it is proper to have it certified as urgent,” he said in an interview by the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC).
Roque reiterated the President also wants his allies in Congress to vote on the franchise bill according to what their “conscience dictates” as he prefers to remain neutral on the issue.
He also said Duterte maintains that only Congress can pass a law giving a franchise.
He reiterated President Duterte had no hand in the NTC decision. He said that if the President intervenes and reverses the NTC decision or approves the franchise of ABS-CBN, he would end up violating the law as he would committing graft and usurping the authority of the NTC and Congress.
‘MARCOSIAN’
The Makabayan bloc at the House said the shutdown of ABS-CBN “shows that President Duterte is determined to use the current crisis brought about by the COVID pandemic to further advance his drive for tyrannical rule.”
“Aside from this blatant attack on press freedom on a scale not seen since the Marcos dictatorship, President Duterte has continued to float the possibility of declaring martial law, even as extrajudicial killings, arrests on trumped up charges, vilification, and harassment of activists and critics of the administration continue unabated,” the left-leaning lawmakers said.
The Makabayan Bloc consists of party-list Reps. Carlos Isagani Zarate, Eufemia Cullamat and Ferdinand Gaite of Bayan Muna, France Castro of Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), Arlene Brosas of Gabriela, and Sarah Elago of Kabataan. — With Ashzel Hachero and Jocelyn Montemayor
