MANILA – House of Representatives Speaker Lord Allan Velasco said ABS-CBN’s franchise bill will not be among the priorities in the remaining moments of the current Congress.
“Calls to revive the franchise of ABS-CBN will have to wait until the next Congress,” Velasco said on Thursday adding that their main focus is to finish the remaining priority measures of the Duterte administration.
“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 shattered by the devastating impact of the global pandemic and rebuilding the lives of every Filipino disrupted by the health crisis,” he added.
Velasco’s statement came days after President Rodrigo Duterte said he will not allow the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to issue ABS-CBN a permit to operate even if Congress will renew the network’s franchise.
ABS-CBN’s free TV and radio channels went off the air on May 5 following the issuance of a cease and desist order by NTC after the broadcast franchise of the network expired on May 4 last year.
Several lawmakers including Deputy Speaker Vilma Santos, Camarines Sur Third District Representative Gabriel Bordado, and Senate President Vicente Sotto III have filed bills aiming to revive the broadcast franchise of the network.
Lawmakers denied the network’s bid to have a new franchise, citing various issues like alleged tax-avoidance schemes, the dual citizenship of its chairman emeritus Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III, failure to regularize its employees, and biased reporting.
The Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Development Bank of the Philippines has earlier stated that ABS-CBN has no unpaid tax dues and has no condoned loans, respectively.
The Supreme Court en banc on Aug. 25 last year also voted to dismiss the plea of ABS-CBN Corporation to stop the closure order issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) in May./PN
