Ilonggo lawmakers vote to ‘kill’ ABS-CBN franchise

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

 

Ilonggo Representatives Julienne Baronda (Iloilo City), Janette Loreto-Garin (Iloilo 1^st district) and Sharon Garin (AAMBIS-OWA Partylist) were part of the 70 members of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Legislative Franchises who voted on Friday to deny ABS-CBN a fresh 25-year legislative franchise.

A technical working group (TWG) formed by the committee recommended to deny the network a new franchise after 12 grueling and highly publicized hearings.

During these deliberations, Baronda and Janette Garin were put in the spotlight for their remarks.

Baronda asked ABS-CBN chief Carlo Katigbak on whether ABS-CBN TV Plus digital box subscribers can be refunded after its operations shut down in late June.

The neophyte representative also became the subject of jabs on social media because of her line of questioning.

Janette Garin, on the other hand, even announced she would resign if the network could prove that she apologized to the parents of children who allegedly died from the Dengvaxia vaccine.

The vaccine was approved for testing when she was still the health secretary under the previous administration.

The TWG was comprised of House members Pablo John Garcia (Cebu 3rd), Xavier Jesus Romualdo (Camiguin Lone), and Stella Luz Quimbo (Marikina 2nd).

The recommendations were based on the following contentions:

– the dual citizenship of ABS-CBN’s chairman emeritus Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III;

– the sale and issuance of Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDRs) to foreign entities;

– the 50-year-limit on legislative franchises under the 1987 Constitution;

– the “illegal” return of the network to the Lopez family after the Marcos era;

– the sale and operation of ABS-CBN TV Plus;

– the operation of the pay-per-view Kapamilya Box Office (KBO) channel;

– the acquisition of block-time airing over frequency owned by AMCARA Broadcasting Network, Inc.;

– the network’s failure to regularize its employees;

– the network’s alleged tax avoidance issues; and

– the network’s alleged “biased” reporting, airing of inappropriate content, and “political meddling”. The report also stated that a denial of the franchise was not related to issues on freedom of the press, saying that ABS-CBN was “undeserving” of the grant.

“In resolving the franchise application of ABS-CBN, this Committee assures the House of Representatives that this matter is in no way related to the freedom of the press. It is what it is — a denial of a privilege granted by the State because the applicant was seen as undeserving of the grant of a legislative franchise,” the report stated.

The report added that the application for a legislative franchise is not related to press freedom.

“By no means can this franchise application be related to press freedom. If it were so, then all applicants for legislative franchises covering mass media could simply claim such freedom and force the hand of this Committee each time. Such a scenario is totally inconsistent with the nature of legislative franchises as a mere privilege and never a matter of right,” it said.

While all three members signed on the report, Quimbo wrote “I dissent” on top of her signature, signaling that she wished for the approval of the franchise.

Both regular and ex-officio members of the committee were asked to vote on a resolution adopting the said report, to which 70 members voted in favor, and 11 members voted against.

Two members abstained while one member, Alfred Vargas (Quezon City 4th) inhibited from voting, citing “conflict of interest”.

The vote followed a two-month-struggle for ABS-CBN after it had been ordered to shut down by the National Telecommunications (NTC) on May 5, 2020 after its franchise under Republic Act No. 7966 expired a day before.

As a result, they were forced to close all operations on free-to-air television channels and radio stations across the country.

The House, sitting as a Committee of the Whole in May, initially voted on a six-month provisional franchise for the network days after its closure, but scrapped its plans after deciding on pushing deliberations for a full-term franchise.

Daily Guardian has repeatedly reached out to the Ilonggo representatives for their comments as of this writing but they have yet to respond.