- Senate conducted hearing on ABS-CBN franchise.
- House of Representatives has yet to start their franchise hearing of ABS-CBN franchise renewal.
Senator Grace Poe simply ignored the latest remarks from House Speaker Alan Cayetano accusing the Senate of being ‘sipsip’ to ABS-CBN.
In her interview with Karen Davila on ANC, Poe brushed off Cayetano’s comments saying the Senate always tried to maintain some level of respect and decorum towards their counterparts in the House of Representatives.
“When you start name calling, ibig sabihin nawawalan ka ng basehan para sa tamang argumento,” she said.
“When I deal with counterparts from the House, we try to maintain a level of respect and decorum because name-calling cheapens the debate,” Poe added.
During the re-launch of the House of Representatives’ Kobe Bryant exhibit, the same day the Senate conducted its hearing on ABS-CBN franchise violations, Cayetano slammed the upper chamber for being ‘sipsip’ to ABS-CBN.
“Bakit nag-hearing ang Senate? Anong purpose? Parang nag-aattendance sa ABS-CBN. ‘Hello, I’m here, I’m for you.’ Kasi sabi nila it’s not for the franchise kasi hindi pa sila pwedeng mag-hearing sa franchise, nandito pa [sa House]. So what’s it for?” Cayetano said.
“There’s no question yung iba nagmamalasakit lang. There’s no question there are solid supporters of ABS. But yung iba OA na e. Parang doomsday na ang ginagawa para lang makapagsipsip. Hindi yun ang proseso,” he added.
Cayetano in his earlier statements said the House is very busy thus it cannot tackle yet ABS-CBN franchise renewal bills.
There are currently 11 pending bills at the Committee on Legislative Franchises.
However, the panel has yet to schedule a hearing for those since the House leadership doesn’t see those measures urgent, instead focusing on the Kobe Bryant exhibit.
“Bakit sinasabi kong hindi ito urgent? Don’t get me wrong, napaka-importante ng franchise ng ABS-CBN, hindi lang sa 11,000 empleyado… Pero hanggang March 2022 ay pwede silang mag-operate eh [Why am I saying this is not urgent? Don’t get me wrong, this is very important. But they can still operate until March 2022],” Cayetano told reporters during a mass wedding ceremony Friday, referring to the end of the 18th Congress.
Meanwhile, on the part of the Senate, Poe said it’s just a matter of time management.
She said while both Congress unquestionably busy, lawmakers should know which to prioritize especially if the bill needing discussion is time-bound.
“Yung pinakasimpleng bagay nga pinagdedebatehan natin, ito pa kaya na hindi lang sa mga empleyado ng ABS-CBN kung di sa buong bayan na umaasa sa news, umaasa sa entertainment.
“I don’t question that Congress is busy. We are busy too. It’s really time management, number 1. And number 2, ito na nga ‘yung sinasabi, ‘Ma’am, paano na ‘yan kung mag-lapse prangkisa ng ABS at hindi kami sigurado sa trabaho namin? Sabi naman sa House May didingin o August. Mag-eenroll na ‘yung mga anak ko. May pa ba? Mae-enroll ko pa ba anak ko ng May? O hintayin muna natin yung Kongreso kasi hindi pa ready,” said Poe.
