The 18th Congress of
the Philippines was opened on Monday, July 22, with the election of leaders,
speakers and deputies for the Senate and House of Representatives, as well as
the State of the Nation Address by President Rodrigo Duterte. With the
formalities out of the way the main body of national legislation in the country
can start working on stuff like the 2020 budget, or the possibility of
returning the death penalty for drug-related crimes (a Duterte recommendation),
or maybe, finally getting a bill renewing the license of media giant ABS-CBN
which is expiring next year. Foiled in the 17th Congress, a bill to
that effect is being refilled.
CNN Philippines reports that another attempt to have the
broadcasting franchise of ABS-CBN be renewed was brought up again in the House
of Representatives, by the same member of the House that filed it in the Congress
that came before. Rep. Micaela Violago of the 2nd District of Nueva
Ecija re-filed the franchise renewal for the major network as House Bill 676,
with less than a year before the existing one for ABS-CBN expires in 2020. At
stake are the jobs of 6,730 regular and 900 non-regular employees, plus 3,325 talents
as of 2018’s end.
Violago’s rationale for renewing
the franchise remains the same as her 17th Congress filing, to wit: “In
acknowledgement of ABS-CBN’s accomplishments and the capital requirements of
its operations, the immediate renewal of its original franchise which expires
on March 30, 2020, is recommended to ensure the uninterrupted and improved
delivery of its services to the Filipino people.” Her previous renewal bill got
stuck at the committee level since 2016, and was not tackled at any length
until the adjournment of the 17th Congress in June.
Probably the most significant
opponent of seeing ABS-CBN get a fresh franchise to operate for 25 more years
is none other than President Rodrigo Duterte himself. Parallel to US
counterpart Donald Trump, Duterte has bones to pick with several media outlets
across all platforms: The Philippine
Daily Inquirer for print, Rappler
online, and ABS-CBN for television. This friction was rooted in the network’s
alleged failure to broadcast a 2016 Election campaign ad paid for by Duterte,
and favoring a critical attack on him by major critic, now-former Senator
Antonio Trillanes. The President has threatened to veto any attempt to renew
the ABS-CBN franchise, despite assurance by Malacañang Spokesperson Salvador
Panelo that a decision by the people in Congress can overturn any legal opposition
by Duterte.
The existing ABS-CBN franchise
will expire on March 2020, and if not renewed by legislation will force the
network to stop operations, leading to catastrophic job loss and production
opportunities.
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