In an apparent move to guarantee good faith in acting on bills seeking to extend the legislative franchise of ABS-CBN, the chairman of the House Committee on Legislative Franchise yesterday asked the National Telecommunications Commission to grant ABS-CBN provisional authority to operate beyond May 4, 2020.
In a letter sent to NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordova, Palawan Rep. Franz Alvarez said a provisional authority to operate should be issued to ABS-CBN until such time that Congress has reached a decision on pending bills proposing a 25-year franchise renewal.
Alvarez made this move after House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano aired assurances that the problematic network may operate even after its existing congressional franchise has expired on May 4, 2020.
The Palawan lawmaker has asked the NTC to extend the authority to operate to ABS-CBN subsidiaries ABS-CBN Convergence Inc., Sky Cable Corp., and Amcara Broadcasting Network Inc.
The ABS-CBN franchise is set to expire on May 4, 2020 because RA 7966 stipulates that the franchise has become effective 15 days from the date of its publication, which was April 19, 1995, it was gathered.
In the letter, Cayetano and Alvarez informed the NTC that the House Committee on Legislative Franchises has started deliberating on ABS-CBN’s application for the renewal of its franchise.
The two House officials noted that the committee has instructed all interested parties to submit their position papers for or against ABS-CBN’s application within a period of 60 days from Feb 24, 2020.
The letter underscored that the House of Representatives has the exclusive original jurisdiction and authority to act on franchise applications. (Ben Rosario)
