All roads lead to the renewal of ABS-CBN franchise: The Filipino people, President Duterte and Congress on board, sakay na!

DEMOCRACY WINS! The Filipino people have spoken loud and clear, demanding press freedom and the rule of law to prevail. The government listens.

Pursuant to the rule of law and due process, ABS-CBN was finally given the formal legal platform to address accusations of franchise violations fueled by no less than President Rodrigo Duterte’s supporters.

The president’s loyal allies in Congress and his ardent followers and fan base had fanned the flames of attack against ABS-CBN via social media, celebrating what they said was the imminent shutdown of the network. It was aggravated by Solicitor General Jose Calida’s filing of the quo warranto case before the Supreme Court with the urgent pleas to silence ABS-CBN and its people, and arguably, even Congress, to get ahead of the anticipated congressional hearings just before the franchise of the network expires on March 30.

ABS-CBN President and Chief Executive Officer Carlo L. Katigbak maintained under oath on Monday, February 24, that “it did not violate any of the provisions of its franchise, and emphasized that it operated based on its mission to be in the service of the Filipino people.” This assertion had been corroborated by government officials and regulatory bodies from the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Securities and Exchange Commission who were called in the hearing to testify under oath.

“Serbisyo po ang layunin ng ABS-CBN. Ngunit kami po ay hindi perpekto. Nagkakamali din po kami at handa po naming itama ang anumang pagkukulang,” Katigbak said in public a statement.

And then in the hearing, Katigbak also addressed the issue that Duterte’s supporters boldly and unapologetically argued to be the issue behind why the President wanted to revoke the license of ABS-CBN.

In a Rappler news report, Duterte’s former aide and now Senator Bong Go argued Duterte is not a vindictive person and ”these are the reasons why the President, is upset, alleging that the “media company chose to air that ‘black propaganda’ yet did not show the ‘legitimate ones’ already paid for by the Duterte campaign.”

Duterte’s minions of followers and fans would post comments online saying “Dapat noon pa sila nag-apologize”,  “Nagkamali sila [ABS-CBN] ng binangga, a suggestion of their approval of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”  use of the most powerful position in the land to get back to those he deemed have hurt him and fought against him on a personal level.

“We are sorry if we offended the president. That was not the intention of the network. We felt that we were just abiding by regulations that surround the airing of political ads,” Katigbak said Monday.

President Duterte has accepted the apology of ABS-CBN, telling reporters at Malacañang on Wednesday, February 26, “Nandiyan na eh (It’s already there). I accept the apology, of course.”

Duterte once again distanced himself from Calida, telling reporters: “Ang problema nitong sa (The problem here with the) SolGen, once he makes an official statement that there is violation of law then I cannot just tell him to stop,” CNN Philippines reported.

Even presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor “Inday” Sara Duterte-Carpio publicly expressed support for the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN after his father’s acceptance of the apology.

”Davao City fully supports ABS-CBN sa kanilang pagpapa-renew ng kanilang franchise. Of course malaki din ang suporta ng ABS-CBN sa Davao City at sa buong bansa,” Duterte-Carpio said in a chance interview in Sulu as reported by CNN Philippines.

And then, pursuant to the rule of law, President Duterte deferred to Congress the authority to act on the renewal of franchise of ABS-CBN, adding that the “critical move” is with the House of Representatives, which is yet to hold a single hearing on the bill seeking a new franchise [More than 11 bills, Mr. President. Ask House Speaker Alan Cayetano].

CNN Philippines further reported: “House Committee on Legislative Franchises vice-chair Rep. Tonypet Albano said Duterte’s acceptance of ABS-CBN’s apology paves the way for a better timing for the House to take up the TV network’s franchise and for them to have a “good hearing.”

Previous to this development and at the height of public protests in support of ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal and the freedom of the press, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said that people should not take President Duterte’s word that he would shutdown ABS-CBN.

Even House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, staunch Duterte supporter who refused to hold hearings on the franchise of ABS-CBN contending that this is not an urgent priority, had morphed into a meek lamb in his recent interviews.

“Let’s not be unfair to ABS-CBN,” Cayetano says after Duterte accepts the network’s apology, as reported by ABS-CBN.

Congress adjourns starting March 14 for the Lenten break, but Cayetano said the Committee on Legislative Franchises is expected to conduct hearings when lawmakers convene in May.

“Walang dahilan magsarado ang ABS, unless hindi ma-grant ang franchise. So while we’re deciding, walang dahilan na magsara,” he said.

O, mga Duterte supporters, narinig niyo na ang Sinabi ng Presidente. Tara na! Sakay na!

For those who missed the explanation of ABS-CBN on the issue of political ads in 2016 campaign, here is a bullet-point summary from the Philippine Star:

• Two kinds of ads: National ads and local ads (within a specific province). There is an allocation of 19 minutes of commercial airtime per hour for national ads while local ads have allocation of two minutes of airtime per hour.

• Of 117 minutes that Duterte  ordered for national airing, all were accommodated and aired.

• Harder to find slots at local level because of limited airtime minutes available

• “Of P65 million worth of spots, we failed to air P7 million worth,” he says, saying slots were on a  “first come, first served” basis.

• ABS-CBN says it was able to refund around P4 million of the P7 million and that refund was accepted.  A later refund of P2,6 million was no longer accepted.

Katigbak says ABS-CBN acknowledged its failure to refund the money in a timely manner and changed policy in 2019 elections. Refunds are supposed to be in buyer’s hands  within seven days.

Why ad of Sen. Trillanes was aired:

• Katigbak says that lawful election propaganda includes “propaganda for or against a candidacy,” which network’s internal committee used as guide to give green light.

• “Unlike the first version of the ad, which we rejected… there was a revised version of the ad which showed the children merely asking questions.”

• ABS-CBN says it was required not to discriminate against any candidate and to accommodate candidates who come to the station with ads that are allowed.

• The Trillanes ads were aired on a national basis (19 mins/hour) not local (2 mins/hour)

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Gel Santos Relos has been in news, talk, public service and educational broadcasting since 1989 with ABS-CBN and is now serving the Filipino audience using different platforms, including digital broadcasting, and print, and is working on a new public service program for the community. You may contact her through email at [email protected], or send her a message via Facebook at Facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos.