The partnership between media giants ABS-CBN and TV5 is ‘above board,’ and that the move will advance press freedom, says ACT-Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro.
“Lumalabas sa pahayag ng PCC (Philippine Competition Commission) na sinasabi dito na iyong joint venture o investment deal ay sinasabing hindi naman ito kailangan inotfy o sinasabi ‘not notifiable transaction (According to the PCC’s findings, this joint venture or investment deal was not a notifiable transaction,” Castro said during a Makabayan bloc press conference on Thursday, Aug. 25.
“Dahil nga doon sa Bayanihan to Heal as One (Bayanihan 2) na batas na naipasa sa panahon ng pandemya na magtatapos ito sa kalagitnaan ng September na iniincrease ang mga transaction, o yung mga deal na umaabot ng P50 billion. Hindi naman umabot sa P50 billion, so sinasabi ng PCC na ‘not notifiable transaction’ (This is because of the Bayanihan 2, which was passed during the pandemic and will conclude in September, that inceased transactions up to P50 billion. The deal did not reach P50 billion, so the PCC said it was not a notifiable transaction,)” she explained.
She was referring to the PCC’s position on the issue.
The PCC said during the Wednesday, Aug. 24 briefing hosted by the House Committees on Legislative Franchises and on Trade and Industry that the media partnership was not a notifiable transaction.
“Pangalawa, nilinaw din ng PCC na ito ay hindi merger, pero baka acquisition of shares. So dahil hindi naman required ang ABS-CBN at TV5 na inotify itong deal na ito, pwede silang mag voluntary submission kung ano ba itong investment na ito, and then pwede mag motu propio ang PCC kaugnay dito sa deal between ABS-CBN and TV5 (Second, the PCC clarified that this was not a merger but perhaps an acquisition of shares. So because the two were not required to notify them about this deal, they could offer a voluntary submission as to what this deal is and then the PCC can hold a motu proprio inquiry into the deal),” Castro explained.
The teacher-lawmaker said that the agreement was above board, and extolled the partnership as a step towards advancing press freedom and empowering consumers.
“So tinitignan nating itong agreement na ito na board at nakikita naman natin na itong agreement na ito ay magpapaunlad ng kalayaan para sa press freedom at siyempre, magkakaroon ng malaking tyansa ang mamamayan para makapamili (We find that this deal is above board and we foresee that it will advance press freedom and surely, there is a big chance that it will allow our citizens to choose),” she concluded.
Read more about the Aug. 24 joint panel hearing here:
https://mb.com.ph/2022/08/24/lagman-insists-tv5-franchise-wasnt-violated-in-deal-with-abs-cbn/