A strong undercurrent is threatening to shake up the broadcast industry due to stories in the grapevine that ABS-CBN would likely make a comeback after losing its franchise in the previous regime.

After President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was sworn in, the National Telecommunications Commission awarded the frequencies of ABS-CBN to Villar’s Advanced Media Broadcasting System.

Without a broadcasting franchise, the Lopez group which owns ABS-CBN, sold its assets to former Senator Manny Villar’s ALLTV network.

Rumors has it that ABS-CBN will get back all its assets which may mean that the Lopezes are confident of retaking their erstwhile jewel, possibly with a new franchise.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has said there is no reason to deny the broadcast firm a fresh franchise “if the issues raised during the hearings conducted by the House of Representatives are resolved.”

In a 13 September interview, aired over ALLTV, Marcos said while the denial of ABS-CBN’s franchise application was a backlash from “political decisions,” the “actual technical reasons” were the issues found during the House hearings.

“Again, I have not changed my position ever. The question about the ABS-CBN franchise is really about some of the violations, some of the problems that they have encountered during the hearings and in the investigation in the House of Representatives,” Marcos told actress-host Toni Gonzaga, a former talent of ABS-CBN.

“As long as those are attended to and those are resolved, there is no reason for the House committee to deny ABS-CBN a franchise,” he added.

WHO panel gets plaudits

The Philippine delegation was lauded for displaying a “collaborative spirit” while defending national interests at World Health Organization’s global tobacco control conference by no less than WHO Committee Chairperson Nuntavarn Vichit-Vadakan, founding dean of the School of Global Studies in the Faculty of Public Health at Thammasat University in Thailand.

“I would like to extend my gratitude to the Philippines’ Delegation for your cooperation in reaching a consensus regarding Agenda Item 6.2. Acknowledging the intricacies of the national context of the parties and agreeing to the requests of other parties while upholding your national interests demonstrates the collaborative spirit that is essential in negotiations. I expect that this trend will continue beyond COP 11,” Vichit-Vadakan said in email read by Senior Deputy Executive Secretary Hubert Guevara.

Guevara, head of the local contingent at the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, or WHO FCTC, 10th Conference of the Partie, or COP 10, expressed pride at the Philippine team’s conduct during the conference during a Blue Ribbon Committee hearing after the Philippines received a “Dirty Ashtray” Award from a non-governmental organization that was not a party to the COP.

“The much-emphasized Dirty Ashtray award was given to the Philippines supposedly for its brazen use of tobacco industry tactics of obstinate, dispute, and delay throughout the COP. Nothing could be farther from the truth,” Guevara said.