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IN THE HOT SEAT. Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano holds a press conference on February 24, 2020. File photo of Darren Langit / Rappler
MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Disgruntled lawmakers have blamed President Alan Peter Cayetano and House leadership for the closing from the media giant ABS-CBN.
Buhay’s representative, Lito Atienza, and Albay’s first district representative, Edcel Lagman, both authors of the bills that renew the network franchise that had already expired, said that the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) did not it should be used as a scapegoat for what Congress did not do.
NTC issued a cease and desist order against ABS-CBN radio and television operations after its franchise expired on Monday, May 4 (READ: ABS-CBN goes off the air after NTC command)
“I would like to apologize for the failure of Congress to do its job. Kasalanan namin ito huh. Kasalanan ng Kongreso ito. But more importantly, I would like to say directly, kasalanan ni Speaker Cayetano ito. Pagkukulang niya ito sa bayan, “ Atienza he told ANC Headstart on Wednesday May 6.
(I would like to apologize for the fact that Congress did not do its job. This is our fault. This is Congress’s fault. But more importantly, I would like to say, directly, it is President Cayetano’s fault. This is what he failed to do. do for the nation.)
Atienza criticized the House for dragging their feet over the invoices for the ABS-CBN franchise, the first filed in September 2014.
“He (Cayetano) will have a lot to explain one day. It may not be today, but later, this problem will haunt him because it was he who did not do his job. Even the president kept reminding him to do your job, magtrabaho kayo, aksyunan ‘nyo‘ yan (work on it, act now). We did? Nothing, ”said Atienza.
Lagman criticized Cayetano for not only delaying House hearings on the ABS-CBN franchise, but also for insisting that the issuance of a provisional authority by the NTC would have been sufficient for the network to continue operating beyond 4 March. may.
The opposition lawmaker has long insisted that the House, from which all franchise bills must emanate, must go ahead and renew the ABS-CBN franchise.
“The National Telecommunications Commission should not be used as a scapegoat for the failure of the House of Representatives leadership patent to decisively push for reasonable renewal of the ABS-CBN franchise,” said Lagman.
“I have repeatedly warned that the solution offered by President Alan Peter Cayetano for the NTC to grant ABS-CBN provisional authority to operate, despite the expiration of its franchise, is against the law and jurisprudence,” he added.
Renewing the ABS-CBN franchise despite its impending expiration date was never a priority of the House when Cayetano became President in July 2019. (READ: Cayetano: “Congress is not here to console ABS-CBN”)
The speaker himself has an ax to grind against ABS-CBN, which he accused of unfair electoral coverage in 2010 and 2016. Cayetano was the running mate of the then mayor of the city of Davao and now president Rodrigo Duterte in the 2016 polls.
The president also has a grudge against the network, and told ABS-CBN in December 2019 that he would see to it that his franchise was not renewed. (READ: TIMETABLE: Stand up against the renewal of the ABS-CBN franchise)
Rappler has repeatedly contacted Cayetano to comment on the ABS-CBN shutdown, but has yet to respond at press time.
The executive intervenes if Congress does not do its job
Administration allied legislator Joey Salceda, another co-author of the ABS-CBN franchise renewal bill, said the network shutdown serves as a reminder to Congress that the executive will step in when lawmakers don’t do their job. .
“My position on the matter has always been clear: It is the exclusive competence of Congress to determine whether a transmission network should have the privilege to operate, and whether that privilege should remain,” the representative for Albay District 2 said Tuesday. 5)
“The NTC action should serve as a warm-up for Congress that if we don’t do our job, the Executive will do it for us, enter any existential vacuum, fill any power gap guided only by its own narrow worldview of what which constitutes a national interest, “added Salceda.
Cagayan de Oro City District 2 Representative Rufus Rodriguez, another co-author of the bill, said Wednesday that he planned to introduce a new measure that would give ABS-CBN a whole new franchise.
Meanwhile, Rodríguez said the House can grant ABS-CBN a provisional franchise valid until June 30, 2022.
“It has to be a new donation and not a renewal, since the franchise of the radio and television station already expired at midnight on May 4 … Now the remedy is for the House to speed up its hearings on my proposals for a temporary franchise proposal and for the granting of a new 25-year transmission service privilege, “he said.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte was “completely neutral” on the ABS-CBN issue and wanted lawmakers vote for the renewal of the network franchise as you please “ – even when the president himself had repeatedly left his position on the fate of the ABS-CBN franchise.
The House, dominated by allies of the administration, is traditionally known for voting as the President wishes.
Cayetano had said the House had been in talks with NTC officials for the issuance of the provisional authority to ABS-CBN in mid-February. He argued that a certification by the House committee on legislative franchises would have been sufficient for the NTC to grant ABS-CBN a temporary permit.
The House of Representatives panel held its first hearing, and the only one it has held thus far, on the renewal of the ABS-CBN franchise on March 10, when NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Córdoba told lawmakers that “probably “would grant ABS-CBN provisional authority to operate beyond May 4.
Three days before the ABS-CBN franchise expired, Cayetano said the Chamber “has no intention” of shutting down the network amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Once again he said the lower house would give ABS-CBN a “fair hearing”, but did not specify when the next process would be.
Unlike the lower house, the Senate passed a resolution on March 4 that expresses its meaning on ABS-CBN’s continued operations beyond May 4, while Congress is still deliberating on bills that renew its franchise. – Rappler.com
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