Malacanang Spokesman Harry Roque said President Rodrigo Duterte will likely sign ABS-CBN’s franchise if there are no other constitutional questions to it.
In a statement during a press briefing in Malacanang, Roque said he doesn’t think the president will veto ABS-CBN’s franchise law once it arrives at his desk.
“Unless there’s any further constitutional infirmity, I don’t think we would veto, but it depends because it’s still speculative, there’s no bill or law yet,” said Roque
The Palace spokesman also distanced the president from the current status of the network, saying Duterte has already cleared the political issue between him and ABS-CBN and that he’s already neutral about the franchise renewal.
“When it comes to political issue, the President has done what he can. He has ordered his allies to be neutral on the ABS-CBN case.
“It’s enough that he has cleared the air, he is now neutral as far as the franchise of ABS-CBN is concerned,” he said.
“If before the President was angry, he had accepted the apology of ABS-CBN and even told his allies to vote according to their conscience,” he added.
ABS-CBN’s franchise bills have been stalled in Congress since 2016 due to President Duterte’s constant public pronouncement about the network’s renewal.
Duterte has been very vocal on several occasions that he will block ABS-CBN’ franchise due to his complaint about the un-aired political ads in 2016.
Duterte, however, has also publicly accepted ABS-CBN’s apology when the network’s President and CEO Carlo Katigbak apologized for hurting his feelings during the Senate hearing on the ABS-CBN franchise.
ABS-CBN has been off the air since Tuesday, May 5, 2020m after NTC decided to issue cease and desist order against the network whose franchise expired on Monday, May 4, 2020.
