‘A mistrial’: Atienza aims to reconsider ABS-CBN franchise at House

An employee watches an announcement of the closure of a Philippine television network on his mobile phone on May 5, 2020. – The Philippines’ main broadcaster, ABS-CBN, was forced off the air on May 5 due to a stalled operating license renewal, leading to new charges. that the authorities were cracking down on press freedom. (Photo by Maria TAN / AFP)

MANILA, Philippines – Calling the denial of the above franchise a “mistrial,” Vice President Lito Atienza said Tuesday that he is considering taking steps to have the decision on the franchise of media giant ABS-CBN reconsidered in the House. of Representatives.

Atienza’s comments came after Senate President Vicente Sotto III introduced a bill in the upper house that sought to give ABS-CBN a franchise to operate, months after the House of Representatives committee on legislative franchises will reject the network’s offer in July 2020.

When asked if he would introduce a similar measure in the lower house, Atienza said he would push for a reconsideration motion instead, and said Congress can take action by bringing the issue to plenary.

READ: Sotto Introduces New Bill to Revive ABS-CBN Franchise

“Rather than resubmit, I would say a motion to reconsider the committee’s decision, which is a shorter path to an acceptable outcome of the deliberations,” Atienza said in an interview with journalists.

“Because if we re-file, we start from an e we are here in the most remote alphabet. Here we are in R, reconsideration. “Let’s not return it, let’s pick up where they left off.”

Atienza said it has yet to be resolved whether he will personally request reconsideration of ABS-CBN’s franchise offer when the House resumes session on January 18.

But if others move in favor of reconsideration, Atienza said he would support it.

“The important thing for us is to address the issue now that the Senate has taken the matter very seriously,” Atienza said.

In a television interview in July 2020, then-spokesman Alan Peter Cayetano said that while the legislative franchise committee may present the resolution denying ABS-CBN’s franchise application to the plenary for further discussion, it is not the usual procedure. .

Cayetano said the legislative franchise committee will first present it to the Rules Committee before it is brought to the plenary in its entirety.

A ‘mistrial’

According to Atienza, the process carried out by the House committee on legislative franchises when deliberating on ABS-CBN’s franchise application last year was “questionable” as it criticized Cayetano’s leadership.

READ: House panel denies ABS-CBN franchise offer, what’s next?

“They give up [beat] the witnesses, the referral agencies and for me, they beat ABS to pulp who was not given the proper opportunity and the fair decision because after a long hearing of 13 sessions they had no evidence and yet the decision was overwhelmingly guilty and punished with cancellation. of the franchise ”, said Atienza.

“So, for the sake of that, we should take off from there. And I would like to go back and rectify the guilt of Congress, which I call a mistrial, “he added.

Atienza was also optimistic on the issue after the change of leadership in the House, with President Lord Allan Velasco taking office.

“Bago na Speaker ngayon, I do not see in his character to give us a double talk, possibly even a betrayal, and he would be a more just president or leader, a speaker for that when we broach the subject,” Atienza said.

“If they [ABS-CBN critics] They are not able to prove anything and the Speaker does not take sides, and I do not see Speaker Velasco conducting the railway procedures in the way we saw it, I am sure that the granting of a franchise or the reconsideration of a decision that committee is very very likely, very likely, ”he added.

KGA

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