The House of Representatives will not act on bills seeking to renew the franchise of major television network ABS-CBN until the year ends, a lawmaker said Wednesday.
All franchise bills must first be approved by the House before they go to the Senate. ABS-CBN's franchise will expire on March 30, 2020 unless Congress and the President approve a new one. Five bills have been filed to extend the franchise for another 25 years.
President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said he will personally make sure the TV network will be out of business when its license to operate expires.
"Ang inyong franchise mag-end next year [Your franchise will end next year]. If you are expecting na ma-renew 'yan [a renewal], I'm sorry. You're out. I will see to it that you're out," said Duterte in a speech.
The President has repeatedly slammed the network since 2018 for supposedly failing to air his presidential campaign advertisements in 2016.
ABS-CBN would be forced to shut down its broadcast operations if it fails to secure a fresh 25-year franchise from Congress, which is currently dominated by Duterte’s allies.
Labor group Defend Job Philippines reiterated its call to grant a new franchise, saying Duterte should resolve its rift with the TV executives in the proper channel.
"[He] must stop using the legislative franchise and the job security issue of ABS-CBN workers as hostages to his plans of going after the TV network," it said in a statement on Wednesday.
Kapamilya Supertars hinihintay pumirma petition para sa franchise ng ABS-CBN nag-iipon ng 1 million
19 JAN 2020 —
From Pilipino Star Ngayon - May naganap palang Black Friday protest ang National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) last Friday night para iapela sa gobyerno na ‘wag harangin ang renewal ng franchise ng ABS-CBN.
Sa harap mismo ng ABS-CBN ang unang assembly point ng organization pero sa Boy Scout Circle sila nagkita-kita nung Biyernes ng gabi.
Mga media practitioner ang nakisali sa nasabing Black Friday protest na may pa hashtags na #NoToABSCBNShutDown #DefendPressFreedom.
Ngayon ay may umiikot nang petition ang NUJP na ang target ay makakalap ng 1 million signatures.
“We call on Congress to do what is right and immediately pass the bill to renew ABS-CBN’s franchise,” ang bahagi ng petition letter nila na nasa social media.
As of press time, 1,573 pa lang ang nakita kong nakapirma.
Obviously, hindi pa aware sa nasabing petition ang fans ng mga superstar ng ABS-CBN tulad nina Coco Martin, KathNiel, LizQuen, Sarah Geronimo, Anne Curtis, Vice Ganda, JaDine, Kim Chiu, at marami pang iba na milyon-milyon ang fans/followers.
Siguradong pag nalaman nila ito, baka lumampas sa isang milyon ang makolekta nilang signature.
Ang change.org ang organizer ng 1M signatures for ABS-CBN franchise renewal.
Ilang beses nang binanggit ni Pres. Duterte na haharangin niya ang renewal ng franchise ng Kapamilya Network na nakatakdang mag-expire sa March 30, 2020.
As of this writing din ay wala pang nakikitang nakapirmang Kapamilya celebrities.
Anyway, ayon naman sa bida ng A Soldier’s Heart na si Gerald Anderson, hoping siya na maging maayos ang franchise ng kanilang network. Pero aniya, kung anuman ang maging desisyon ni Pangulong Duterte, dapat pa rin nating respetuhin. “Takot. Hmmm, medyo wala na akong say dun. Pero sana magiging maayos,” pahayag ni Gerald nang matanong namin after the press preview ng A Soldier’s Heart kung nate-tension na ba siya dahil sakaling magkatotoo ang sinasabi ng pangulo ng bansa, maapektuhan ang ipapalabas pa lang niyang serye na two years in the making. “Respetuhin natin kung anong magiging desisyon niya. But at the end of the day sana lahat may trabaho pa rin sa ABS-CBN... pero at the end of the day siya pa rin ang presidente natin so respetuhin pa rin kung anuman ‘yun,” sabi pa ng aktor na obvious na nakabangon na sa issue ng ghosting kay Bea Alonzo and Julia Barretto.
Mag-uumpisang mapanood ang A Soldier’s Heart sa January 20, Monday.
