On EDSA Holiday and the ABS-CBN's Senate Hearing on Franchise Renewal

Photo from ABS-CBN News

Before this site became a lifestyle blog, this is previously a personal blog. I remember talking about press freedom, my adventures as a journalism student, and even how I wanted to land a job at ABS-CBN. So lately, I was very tuned in about the Senate Hearing yesterday, February 24, about their renewal franchise. It was headed by Senator Grace Poe and the Senate committee on public services. And for many Filipinos who has ABS-CBN stories, I believe that they too are monitoring the proceedings and while many issues were brought up, some things became clearer—at least to me. 

ABS CBN President Carlo Katigbak

I actually applauded ABS-CBN's President Carlo Katigbak. He was very calm throughout the proceedings, and ready to answer the questions even how tough that was. He straight blankly answered and never referred to himself as ABS-CBN’s president but as one of the 11,000 employees. He is humble and you can see how much he values the network and its people. Because at the end of the day, it's all about the people. 

No Violations

With the many accusations against ABS-CBN, the tables have turned during the hearing. Apparently,  the network did not violate any laws. ABS-CBN has even been religiously paying its taxes according to the BIR. The DOLE could not find any violation made by the network in its treatment of its employees. The NTC found no violation either. The SEC also said that it is not aware of any violation or any ongoing complaint or investigation involving the broadcast network. So what gives? 

Franchise expiration is on May 2020, not March

No less than the Justice Secretary said that ABS-CBN’s franchise will expire on May 4, 2020, not March 30. Additionally, the NTC said that, in their consultation with the Justice Secretary, ABS-CBN may still continue to operate even after its franchise expires on May 4. 

Artists and journalists rallied around ABS-CBN

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) together with the Director’s Guild of the Philippines (DGPI) were just some of the groups that rallied in support of ABS-CBN during the hearing. The NUJP said that ABS-CBN must continue to operate as a platform for free speech and exchange of ideas. The DGPI for their part said that ABS-CBN must continue as a platform for the arts and continued progress and development of Philippine entertainment and media. I love how they lit up Quezon City last week in support of the station. 

To add clarity, most of the Senators were supportive of the network, notably Manny Pacquiao and Lito Lapid - with the latter once starred in The Probinsyano.  Surprisingly though, even Bato, who earlier said the welfare of the nation was more important than 11,000 people who could lose their jobs if ABS-CBN Corp failed to renew its franchise, said that he is close to supporting ABS-CBN’s renewal. Bong Go said that he will ask the President to reconsider his stand on the network’s franchise renewal.

Good thing that the hearing also seemed to put pressure on Congress to act on the renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise. After yesterday's hearing in the Senate, the House panel was tasked to discuss the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN and it will ask parties involved to submit their position paper on the issue. And to think that Congress wanted to stop this hearing by Senator Poe’s committee. 

All these make me wonder what the quo warranto was all about since all the alleged violations contained within the SolGen’s complaint against ABS-CBN were denied by the government agencies present during the hearing. The NTC, the SEC and the BIR al said there were no violations. So what was the shutdown all about? Why was even there an issue of closing the network despite all these resolution?

With the EDSA Anniversary around the corner, the issue seems to link on other issues such as press freedom and the due process. Are we mirroring on the history where we cannot speak our minds? We’re even not sure if the Supreme Court will approve the SolGen’s petition for a gag order. But for now, I'm just happy that this hearing pushed through and brought light about how ABS-CBN was abiding the law and there are no violations.