ABS-CBN franchise bill seeks House approval

A renewed push to grant media giant ABS-CBN a 25-year franchise was lobbied for in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, nearly five years after the network was forced off the air.

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda introduced House Bill 11252 urging Congress to reconsider renewing ABS-CBN’s franchise. He highlighted clarifications from key government agencies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Bureau of Internal Revenue, affirming that the network complied with ownership restrictions and had no pending tax liabilities.

“I believe that the free market of ideas requires competition. A virtual monopoly will not do, as far as disseminating ideas and keeping the public informed is concerned,” said Salceda, chairperson of the House Committee on Ways and Means.

“I also owe it to Albay. ABS-CBN remains the single most important news source in Albay, despite its lack of a franchise,” the economist-lawmaker added.

According to Salceda, pushing for the return of the Lopez-led media is “clearly the right thing to do” taking into consideration thousands of its employees who were laid off since it was forced to shut down on 5 May 2020, at the height of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic.

“The non-renewal of the franchise, however, cost some 11,000 direct jobs. This representation also argued that the information asymmetries that resulted from the loss of an information source caused thousands of new Covid-19 infections during the critical 2020 period,” the bill reads.

Salceda is not the first lawmaker to push for the renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise. Since the beginning of the Marcos administration and the 19th Congress, four similar bills have been filed in the House, but none have made significant progress.

The measures remain pending with the House Committee on Legislative Franchises and are expected to languish there given that the current Congress is set to end in June.

Salceda, however, is confident his bill will not suffer the same fate, saying “I rarely file something that does not become law.”

The House, during the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte, thumbed down ABS-CBN’s franchise application in May 2020 for another 25-year franchise after its last franchise from May 1995 expired.

ABS-CBN Corporation was granted a 25-year broadcast franchise on 30 March 1995 under Republic Act 7966, to expire on 4 May 2020. The network’s bid for a franchise renewal became embroiled in political tensions, especially after a political ad critical of then presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte aired in 2016. Duterte’s criticism of the network continued throughout his presidency, further souring their relationship.

In 2016, Representative Micaela Violago filed a bill for a new 25-year franchise, but Duterte publicly opposed it.

In 2018, Duterte warned he would “object” to the network’s bid to have its license renewed, citing a previous issue with the ABS-CBN, which aired a paid ad by his critic, Senator Antonio Trillanes, ahead of the 2016 elections.

The ad featured clips of Duterte uttering foul language and making inappropriate gestures as well as clips of children reacting to some of his bold remarks, including his comment about the rape-slay of an Australian missionary and his cursing of Pope Francis.

In 2019, Duterte suggested that ABS-CBN’s owners sell the company, casting doubt on its franchise renewal. Protests and advocacies for the renewal grew, with concerns about press freedom.

In February 2020, Solicitor General Jose Calida filed a quo warranto petition to revoke ABS-CBN’s franchise over alleged violations, which the network denied.

Despite the congressional hearings and investigations that cleared ABS-CBN of legal issues, the National Telecommunications Commission issued a cease-and-desist order on 5 May 2020 halting its operations.

Despite efforts to renew the franchise, the House of Representatives denied ABS-CBN’s bid for renewal in July 2020. This decision resulted in the loss of over 11,000 jobs and raised concerns about press freedom and the media landscape in the Philippines.