VICE President Leni Robredo on Sunday said the 16th Congress under the Aquino administration is partly to blame for the recent closure of ABS-CBN Corp. because it sat on the media giant’s application for the renewal of its franchise.
Robredo, a staunch ally of former President Benigno Aquino, lamented the bills seeking to renew the network’s franchise have been pending at the House of Representatives since 2014, under the 16th Congress which was then led by Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.
“Anim na taon na. Dalawang taon sa past administration, apat na taon sa administrasyon na ito. So bakit sasabihin na walang panahon para pag-usapan, o kulang ng panahon? Kasi kung gugustuhin, puwede naman (It’s been six years. Two years in the past administration and four years in this administration. So why say there’s no time or there’s not enough time to tackle the bills? Because if they really wanted to, it can be done),” she said in her radio program “Biserbisyo Leni” on RMN.
The committee on legislative franchises in the 16th Congress was chaired by Marikina Rep. Marcelino Teodoro, who is now the mayor of the city.
Robredo also said officials of the Duterte administration are playing the blame game after Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano slammed Solicitor General Jose Calida for allegedly meddling in the affairs of the House when he pressured the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to issue a cease and desist order against ABS-CBN.
Robredo particularly criticized the House leadership for blaming others when it had all the time to hear the franchise bills and discuss all issues, including the supposed violations of the TV network, as alleged by Calida in a quo warranto petition he filed with the Supreme Court in February.
The NTC issued the order on May 5, a day after ABS-CBN’s franchise expired.
“Pagkatapos ng shutdown, noong marami nag-react, nagtuturuan na. Noong hindi pa sina-shut down mayroong mga ano ito, may mga threats na hindi na kayo makaka-renew, tapos ngayon nagtuturuan kung sino iyong behind it. Pero noong panahon na may oras pa, iyong tanong nga: bakit hindi inasikaso? (After the shutdown, when may were reacting, the started tossing the blame. When it was yet to be closed down, there were threats that it will not be renewed and now they’re accusing each other as behind it. But when there was still time, the question is, why did you not act on it?),” said the Vice President.
The NTC shut down ABS-CBN despite its commitment to Congress to issue a provisional authority so the network could continue operations while Congress is deliberating on the franchise bills.
The order was issued issued while the House leadership has yet to schedule a hearing on the 11 franchise renewal bills pending before the legislative franchise committee chaired by Rep. Palawan Franz Alvarez.
The House failed to act on the measure after President Duterte repeatedly announced that he was opposed to the renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise and he is not going to sign a bill granting any renewal after the television network did not air some of his political ads during the 2016 campaign period.
Robredo said what is worse is the timing of the shutdown, which was at a time when the country has to unite while facing the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
She said the absence of ABS-CBN on air greatly affects the flow of vital information, especially to the far-flung areas.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, an author of the franchise bills, said the measure was “dead on arrival at the NTC.”
“It was the leadership of the House of Representatives which deprived ABS-CBN of its authority to operate by inordinately stalling the network’s franchise renewal and allowing it to expire,” he said.
Lagman said even the Supreme Court “will have difficulty finding legal anchorage for issuing a temporary restraining order (TRO) against NTC.”
He said the law is clear under R.A. No. 7925 or the “Public Telecommunications Policy Act” that, “No person shall commence or conduct the business of being a public telecommunications entity without first obtaining a franchise.”
“What is needed to operate is either an original franchise or a renewed one. Any alleged issuances by NTC of provisional authority to operate to those with expired franchises cannot be invoked as a precedent in violation of the law,” he said.
He said only the House of Representatives where private bills like legislative franchises emanate, “can resurrect ABS-CBN’s operations by forthwith granting the network a renewed 25-year franchise.”
“The proverbial key to heaven for ABS-CBN is with Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano,” said the opposition lawmaker.
