A glimpse of concrete hope was almost seen as it was announced that the House of Representatives may finally vote on the renewal of the ABS-CBN franchise after a House panel rejected the media giant’s bid for a new 25-year franchise.
To discuss and settle the unfinished business, Rep. Michael Defensor of Anakalusugan Party-List initiated to bring the report to the Plenary.
“We either affirm the committee report and do away with that unfinished business before we continue with the other businesses of the day that we are considering as the plenary.”
But with the House panel being able to vote again, what does this mean?
If brought to the Plenary session, the House could either confirm or reject the Panel’s decision that voted 70-11 in favor of denying ABS-CBN a new franchise, despite government agencies clearing the media giant of any wrongdoing.
It would pave the way for the entire House to decide on ABS CBN’s franchise’s fate, which was rejected by the Chamber Franchise Committee in July 2020.
In an interview, the House of Representatives leader, House Deputy Speaker Lito Atienza, said that the Plenary could reverse the ABS-CBN franchise’s refusal, especially under the leadership of Speaker Lord Allan Velasco.
“I believe it can be pulled out by the Plenary now and reconsidered in the new leadership we have now, plenary overrule the committee and the plenary prevails,” House Deputy Speaker Lito Atienza told ANC’s Headstart.
Lawmakers wishing to grant ABS-CBN with a new franchise said that the Plenary could overturn the panel’s decision to deny the TV network’s request for a new license.
Atienza also added that the House legislative franchise panel’s vote in July that denied the media giant with a new franchise–must be brought to the Plenary session.
UPDATE: The rejection of ABS CBN’s request for a new franchise by the House Committee is already final, as no lawmaker has appealed its decision, chair of the panel.
House Legislative Franchises Committee Chairperson Rep. Franz Alvarez (Palawan) said that any of the 70 legislators who voted to reject the media giant’s request for a franchise could have filed a request for reconsideration, but none of them did.
“Under the rules, any one of the 70 House members who voted against the franchise application could file a motion for reconsideration on behalf of ABS-CBN to challenge the decision of the Committee, unfortunately, there was none, thus the committee decision has become final,”
Adding, House Legislative Franchises Committee Chairperson Rep. Franz Alvarez pointed out that the ABS-CBN franchise issue will be the problem of the next Congress,
“The subject matter of the unfinished business in the plenary is House Bill 6732, which seeks to grant ABS-CBN a provisional franchise effective until Oct. 31, 2020,” Alvarez pointed out.
“Based on my understanding from the House leadership, the ABS-CBN franchise issue is best left to the next Congress.”
Undeniably, the franchise nonrenewal caused disarray in the entertainment industry. Apart from thousands of employees who lost their jobs, the shutdown also resulted in an information gap, especially in far-flung areas. It is because the only media’s regional offices could reach out to wider audiences.
