ABS-CBN Corporation is one media giant which
undoubtedly can be used for one’s political amabitions.
Since the 2022 national elections is just
around the corner, any candidate would really have a higher chance if it has
the Lopez- owned and controlled corporation doing some of your PR program.
Former Ambassador and veteran journalist Mr.
Rigoberto Tiglao published a very insightful article regarding the abrupted resurrection
of ABS-CBN’s franchise our noses.
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| (photo credit to owner) |
For purposes of transparency, understanding
and public knowledge, we have quoted in full the said article below for your
own convenience:
Desperate: Drilon, ex-ABS-CBN producer try to sneak in TV
network's franchise
IT is a
desperate attempt by the Yellows (now Pinklawans) to resuscitate their
once-deadly propaganda weapon, the now supine ABS-CBN's media monster. They are
hoping that this weapon will stop Ferdinand ("Bongbong") Marcos,
Jr.'s now clearly unstoppable bid to become president in 2022.
However, going by its sheer suntok-sa-buwan (long shot)
character, as Filipinos would put it, it seems to be more, again, as Filipinos
would put it, hanap-buhay (livelihood) by these two legislators.
Notable lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, attorney of the Volunteer
Against Crime and Corruption, explains this wretched attempt by this tandem:
"It would appear that ABS-CBN is trying to sneak its
franchise back in, by using a roundabout (but plausible way) of doing it
through its friends and allies in Congress.
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| (photo credit to owner) |
On May
13, 2020, Sen. Franklin
Drilon filed Senate Bill 1530 seeking to amend
a section in the 34-year-old Administrative Code (Executive Order 292) issued
by then-president Corazon "Cory" Aquino to ensure that the franchise
or license that needs a congressional grant would not expire as long as the
franchise or license holder makes 'timely and sufficient application for the
renewal of a license or franchise xxx until the application shall have been
finally determined by the xxx branch of government that grants or renews such
xxx franchise."
Of
identical wording is HB 7923 filed on the very same date (May 13, 2020) by Rep. Joy Tambunting of Parañaque. Tambunting was a producer for ABS-CBN
from 1988 until the late 1990s, and was assigned to oversee some top-rated
entertainment content of the network.
IT is a desperate attempt by the Yellows (now Pinklawans) to resuscitate their
once-deadly propaganda weapon, the now supine ABS-CBN's media monster. They are
hoping that this weapon will stop Ferdinand ("Bongbong") Marcos,
Jr.'s now clearly unstoppable bid to become president in 2022.
However, going by its sheer suntok-sa-buwan (long shot)
character, as Filipinos would put it, it seems to be more, again, as Filipinos
would put it, hanap-buhay (livelihood) by these two legislators.
Notable lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, attorney of the Volunteer
Against Crime and Corruption, explains this wretched attempt by this tandem:
"It would appear that ABS-CBN is trying to sneak its
franchise back in, by using a roundabout (but plausible way) of doing it
through its friends and allies in Congress.
On May 13, 2020, Sen. Franklin Drilon filed Senate
Bill 1530 seeking to amend a section in the 34-year-old Administrative Code
(Executive Order 292) issued by then-president Corazon "Cory" Aquino
to ensure that the franchise or license that needs a congressional grant would
not expire as long as the franchise or license holder makes 'timely and
sufficient application for the renewal of a license or franchise xxx until the
application shall have been finally determined by the xxx branch of government
that grants or renews such xxx franchise."
Of identical wording is HB 7923 filed on the very same date (May
13, 2020) by Rep. Joy Tambunting of Parañaque. Tambunting was a
producer for ABS-CBN from 1988 until the late 1990s, and was assigned to
oversee some top-rated entertainment content of the network.
9:31/58:14
The "conspiracy" is obvious from the
synchronicity of the filing and the identity of the words of the proposed law,
one from the Senate and another from the House.
Although
general in its application, it is quite clear that the proposed legislation is
aimed at reinstating or revivifying the franchise of ABS-CBN and Amcara
Broadcasting Network, whose franchises have expired and which have been the
subject of a cease-and-desist order from the National Telecommunications
Commission. Last year, Cavite Rep. Jesus Crispin Remulla had alleged
that Amcara was a mere "dummy" of ABS-CBN.
During the congressional hearings for the renewal of ABS-CBN's
franchise, lawmakers who supported the station repeatedly argued that the
operations of ABS-CBN should be allowed to continue while the issue of its
renewal was being tackled, even if the same went past its expiration as stated
in the law. This is the same provision made in the proposed amendment to the
law authored by Drilon and Tambunting.
This
legal position is untenable, as argued by those who opposed the said
contention, because of the doctrine of "no franchise, no operation"
enunciated in the leading case of Associated Communications v NTC,
decided in 2003 and penned by then-chief justice Reynato Puno, and that
the NTC cannot issue a license for any media outfit to operate without an
approved legislative franchise. And only last year, the Supreme Court held in ABS-CBN
Broadcasting Corp. v NTC that a cease-and-desist order against a company
whose franchise was approved by Congress was not a grave abuse of discretion.
What these Senate and House bills seek to achieve is a
"holdover franchise" to be enjoyed by an entity as long as it applies
for a renewal thereof, while the Congress is deliberating on the question of
such renewal. This is wrong on so many levels. Let us simplify the issues.
First, a franchise is granted only by Congress, and the law
granting such a franchise shows definite dates as to when the privilege started
and when it ends. As stated in Associated Broadcasting, supra, a franchise is a
condition sine qua non for the operation of any entity, which requires a
franchise for a particular activity. The grant of a franchise is an act of
Congress, meaning that it requires a positive act, something that is done by
Congress deliberately and in the exercise of its legislative powers. A grant of
franchise is embodied in a law. By allowing a franchise holder whose franchise
has expired to continue to operate as if it still held a valid franchise, by
the simple expedient of the said franchise holder merely applying for an
extension and having Congress deliberate upon it (without granting or denying the
same), would in effect grant it an extension of its franchise beyond the
lifetime thereof as stated in the law previously granting the same. This would
require a positive act of Congress of passing a law.
Passivity
Differently stated, it cannot be done through
inaction of passivity by failing to act in the meantime on such an application
for renewal. Such an effect would be unconstitutional as it allows Congress to
utilize its powers in a manner not provided for in the fundamental law (note
that there are strict procedures in the Constitution before a bill becomes
law).
The absurdity of the situation becomes self-evident when we take
into consideration that a franchise holder, which may have otherwise been — for
any number of reasons — disqualified from having its franchise renewed, may
still continue to enjoy the benefits of a legislative franchise far beyond the
expiration of the original grant thereof, by delaying the denial of its
franchise by months or even years, as is plausible due to the unavoidable
delays already experienced and may be continued to be expected, in our
Congress. And what if ultimately, the franchise renewal is denied? Then the
company would have enjoyed for a long time the benefits of a franchise to which
it was, after all, not entitled.
Making it automatic, by operation of law, for a
franchise to be extended through inaction by Congress promotes sloth and
procrastination on the part of both the members of Congress — who do not have
to do anything in the meantime in order for an entity to continue operating —
and the franchise holder itself — which only has to file an application for
renewal, without having to prove itself worthy thereof in the meantime. It
places a premium on inaction and results in uncertainty.
The situation is akin to having an expired
passport. One cannot file an application for a new passport before the old one
has expired, and after the same had expired, argue that he should be allowed to
travel on his expired passport because he had already applied for a new one.
Vagueness
Then there is the vagueness in the wording of the
law. What is meant by the phrase "timely and sufficient" application?
When is the application timely? One year before expiration, six months? And
what does "sufficient" mean? In form only, or in substance? The law
does not say. And there is such a principle in constitutional law called
"void for vagueness." And how can such sufficiency be determined
except after Congress has deliberated? The main premise is egregious in the
extreme. Verily, there are no set standards provided for in the law, including
— and this is crucial — how long the "holdover" shall last. This in
itself is objectionable for lack of definition.
Lastly, on the question of ethics and propriety, it
is execrable that lawmakers are compelled to craft laws, not for the general
welfare, but to transparently favor certain vested interests whose welfare may
not dovetail with that of the public that the lawmakers have sworn to
serve."
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