SAGIP Party-list Rep. Rodante Marcoleta is prodding the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) to look into the potential deal between the shuttered media giant ABS-CBN and TV5.
This, as Marcoleta described the venture as a possible "circumvention of the law", given the fate of ABS-CBN during the previous 18th Congress wherein it was denied franchise renewal by the House of Representatives.
"Ang nakikita ko ay parang circumvention ng batas yung gagawin nila na madaliang joint venture between ABS-CBN and TV5 (The way I see it, this hasty joint venture between ABS-CBN and TV5 is like a circumvention of the law)," the one-time UniTeam senator slate member told Radyo Pilipinas in an interview late Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 10.
During the campaign period, Marcoleta would usually brag about his role in the closure of television and radio giant ABS-CBN, which, according to him, ABS-CBN violated the laws of the land.
"Yung Philippine Competition Commission, hanapan din sila ng parang consent dito...Kailangan malinis na mailatag yan. Dapat kunan muna ng opinyon ang PCC sapagkat yung acquisition or merger or kahit ano pang sabihin nilang partnership, kinakailangan na dumaan (The Philippine Competition Commission should be asked for consent on this...This should be done the proper way. The PCC should have a say in this because the acquisition or merger or whatever partnership this is must go through them)," the former deputy speaker said of the ABS-CBN-TV5 deal.
According to Marcoleta, the ABS-CBN-TV5 partnership, if it comes to fruition, would constitute a "monopoly".
"Kasi makikita mo yan, TV5 malaki yan, pagkatapos ABS-CBN, mamo-monopolize yung industry dito, Wala bang say dito ang PCC? Magiging monopoly ito (If you look at it, TV5 is a huge company, and if you add ABS-CBN to it, it will monopolize the industry. Doesn't the PCC have a say in this? This will become a monopoly)," the lawyer-solon said.
Aside from the PCC, Marcoleta also chided the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for their lack of action against ABS-CBN after it was shut down.
"Dapat sana ay titignan muna ng NTC yung mga lumabas namin na pagdinig kung saan ay marami rin naman kaming napatunayan na violations lalung lalo na yung mga nailalhad namin nung huling hearing (The NTC should look at the findings of our hearings wherein we also found proof for many violations, especially during our last hearing)," he said.
"Dapat sana, motu proprio ang NTC dapat tinignan ano ang mga basehan nung mga nakalkal namin na violation. Ganon dapat nag-proceed ang pangyayari. Hindi kaagad yung--parang walang nangyari, parang napagtakpan lahat eh (The NTC should motu proprio check the basis pf the violations we discovered. The events should have proceeded like that. Not as if nothing happened, as if there's a cover-up)," Marcoleta said.
"Maliban pa doon, sa mga BIR obligations. Yun ang talagang matindi. Ang totoo niyan, NTC and BIR ang dapat tumingin lahat dito sa mga nakalap namin na ebidensya para magkaroon ng closure naman (Aside from that, there are the BIR obligations . That's really serious. In reality, and for us to have closure, the NTC and BIR should look into all the pieces of evidence that we gathered)," he further said.