Photo: ABSCBN News/Instagram

MANILA, Philippines – A bill seeking to grant embattled media giant ABS-CBN a franchise allowing it to construct, install, operate and maintain television and radio stations nationwide has been filed at the House of Representatives today, January 7. 

House Committee on Ways and Means Chair Joey Salceda filed House Bill 11252 four years after the Committee on Legislative Franchises denied ABS-CBN’s franchise bid in June 2020 due to supposed violations. 

Salceda said that both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Bureau of Internal Revenue had already certified that the network “did not violate ownership restrictions and did not have pending liabilities” as cited in the deliberations in the previous Congress. 

He added that the non-renewal of the franchise eventually contributed to a further spread of “new Covid-19 infections during the critical 2020 period” due to the “loss of an information source.” 

The lawmaker highlighted that prior to the rejection of the franchise renewal, 36% of Filipinos derive their news and entertainment from ABS-CBN. 

Its extensive regional network reach, he said, was also the source of news and updates on impending disasters “making the channel crucial then to disaster risk reduction strategies at a local level.” 

Given the merits of renewing the franchise and clarifications made by certain government agencies on allegations against the network, Salceda encourages the fellow lawmakers to reconsider the non-renewal of the franchise by the previous Congress.” 

Photo courtesy: Office of Rep. Joey Salceda.

2020 

Voting 70 to11, members of the Committee on Legislative Franchises, a panel dominated by Duterte allies, voted to “kill” the franchise of ABS-CBN permanently shutting down its free tv and radio operations over complaints of partisanship in the 2016 presidential elections. 

ABS-CBN officially went off the air on May 5, 2020 upon the effect of a Cease and Desist Order by the National Telecommunications Commission due to lack of franchise.