Democracy Watch Philippines Statement on Senate Hearing on the ABS-CBN Franchise
All about hurt feelings and unseen objectives?
DWP strongly urges the House of Representatives to renew the franchise of ABS-CBN in light of the revelations made during the public hearing this week at the Philippine Senate.
On February 24, the Senate Committee on Public Services exercised its oversight functions over legislative franchises and held a public hearing to discuss ABS-CBN’s violations of the terms and conditions of its franchise, as alleged by Sol. Gen. Calida in his Quo Warranto plea. During the hearing, the BIR cleared the broadcaster of any tax violations, the DILG said the network had complied with standard labor conditions, the NTC admitted that ABS-CBN had no standing penalties, while the SEC could not confirm or deny a review of ABS-CBN’s ownership had even been conducted.
In addition to pulling the rug out from under Calida and his disingenuous Quo Warranto plea, the hearing also managed to shed light on the true motivation behind the threat on ABS-CBN’s franchise. None other than Sen. Bong Go himself proudly admitted that it was a paid anti-duterte ad back in 2016 that caught the ire of the President and has led to the threats on ABS-CBN’s franchise.
It would now appear that It was never about taxes, labor issues, or foreign ownership, perhaps not even about the freedom of expression or censorship, but instead has all along been about a President and his hurt feels. Is this not a clear abuse of power? Is it not indicative of unstable governance? Does it not show reckless disregard for the economic wellbeing of thousands of Filipino families? These delaying tactics by administration will only feed even more speculation of yet unseen objectives.
Democracy Watch Philippines applauds the Senate Committee on Public Services, chaired by Sen. Grace Poe, for exercising its legislative oversight function to shed light on issues brought against the nation’s largest broadcast network. But what we need now is the House of Representatives to exercise its power to grant legislative franchises and extend the franchise of ABS CBN before it adjourns session in March.