Today is day one, that the media giant is offline, the question of everybody is “What’s next for ABS-CBN”.
Yesterday the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) ordered ABC-CBN to “cease and desist” from broadcasting on television and radio, a day after the company’s 25-year operating franchise expired. NTC has a mandate to suspended the operations of a media company if there is no franchise granted by Congress. The Law said if franchise expires a company should get a franchise from Congress.
ABS CBN knew from the very start that the franchise is expiring May 5, 2020, there are legal actions available to file to the Congress but they did not do it. For 6 years the renewal is pending in the Congress in that span of time the media giant should have exercised all their power to renew it and it is unfair to blame this to Congress and NTC alone.
Prior to the shutdown, House leaders, including Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, assured that ABS-CBN would continue operating and they will pass the renewal once the session is open. Congress is open for a month, they have already passed house rules to have sessions over the internet.
President Rodrigo Duterte already accepted the apology offered by ABS-CBN President Carlo Katigbak during a Senate hearing for airing an anti-Duterte ad during the 2016 campaign which was paid for by the opposition. More..
According to Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque in an interview this morning:
“Completely neutral po ang Presidente jan, vote as you conscience dictates, hinding hindi po manghihimasok ang Presidente sa inyong desisyon,pero ngayong bukas po ang Kongreso, talaga pong Kongreso ang magbigay ng Prangkisa sa ABS-CBN.”
The senators, however, are in support of the renewal of the media giants franchise as Senate President Tito Sotto said:
“ABS Franchise, bring it to the Senate, we will approve it!” he wrote on Twitter.
More: ‘We will approve it!’: Sotto says ABS-CBN franchise renewal should be brought to Senate.
Takeaway: Everyone is confident that ABS-CBN franchise will be renewed, the Congress and even the Senate said it, now rest in the hands of the House of Congress. The Law will take its own course.
Meanwhile, the Philippine Stock Exchange Suspended the trading of ABS and ABSP, Listed Companies of ABS-CBN. Source: edge.pse.com.ph.
May 6, 2020, StockBytes! PH
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