Albay 1st district Rep. Joey Salceda is seeking the revival of the operating franchise of shuttered television and radio giant ABS-CBN.
Salceda moves to revive ABS-CBN franchise: 'Clearly the right thing to do'
At a glance
Albay 1st district Rep. Joey Salceda (Facebook)
Albay 1st district Rep. Joey Salceda is seeking the revival of the operating franchise of shuttered television and radio giant ABS-CBN.
Salceda filed for this purpose House Bill (HB) No.11252, which bats for a new 25-year franchise for the so-called "Kapamilya network".
ABS-CBN's congressional franchise expired on May 4, 2020, during the previous Duterte administration.
It is arguably one of the most popular networks in the country’s history and an icon in Philippine culture. Although the network has mostly shifted to the online space, it has seen brighter days.
"I believe that the free market of ideas requires competition. A virtual monopoly will not do, as far as disseminating ideas and keeping the public informed is concerned," Salceda said in justifying his bill.
Salceda, who is eyeing the governor's seat in Albay in this year's polls, says he "owes" it to his province to revive ABS-CBN's franchise.
"I also owe it to Albay. ABS-CBN remains the single most important news source in Albay, despite its lack of a franchise," he said.
Moreover, the Bicolano said the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) have cleared ABS-CBN of the allegations against it, particularly the violation of ownership restrictions and supposed pending tax liabilities.
"I was a former co-author of their franchise in the past Congress. You will remember that I even warned against the franchise rejection on grounds that it will add to Covid-19 infections due to lack of information," Salceda said.
"I saw adding my name to the list of principal authors this time as a way to add my voice to what is clearly the right thing to do," he noted.
In the explanatory note of HB No.11252, Salceda recalled that the non-renewal of ABS-CBN's franchise "cost some 11,000 direct jobs".
Prior to the rejection of the franchise renewal in 2020, some 36 percent of Filipinos derived their news and entertainment ffom the channel, the bill read.
"ABS-CBN's extensive regional network reach was also the source for news and updates on impending disasters, making the channel crucial then to disaster risk reduction strategies at the local level," it added.
"Given the merits of renewing the franchise, as well as the clarifications made by govemment agencies over certain allegations against the grantee, this representation urges Congress to reconsider the non-renewal of the franchise by the previous Congress," HB No.11252 read.