ABS-CBN franchise bills won’t be certified as urgent

  MANILA – Franchise bills for embattled broadcast firm ABS-CBN remain pending at the house of representatives but won’t be certified as urgent, the presidential spokesperson said on Wednesday (May 6). ABS-CBN’s franchise expired on May 4. Eleven bills seeking the renewal of its 25-year franchise remain pending at the House of Representatives. ABS-CBN went off air on Tuesday after the National Telecommunications Commission ordered the network to halt the operations of its television and radio broadcasting stations following the expiration of its franchise. Solicitor General Jose Calida, in February, accused ABS-CBN of “highly abusive practices” and called for it to be stripped of its license. On Wednesday, Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte could not certify the franchise bills as urgent because of “private interest” involving ABS-CBN. Thus, it is improper to certify as urgent the bills for the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN, he said. “I’ve not seen any franchise bill to have been certified as urgent by the President. So in that sense, no certification is forthcoming because it is for all intended purposes a private bill that grants a privilege to a private company. I don’t think it is proper to have it certified as urgent,” Roque said. Only the legislative branch has the “primary and exclusive” power to decide on ABS-CBN’s fate, he said, adding that the House can now start deliberating on the pending franchise bills since the session of Congress resumed on May 4. BEA/Expat Media https://www.expatmedia.net/tfc-ofws-continue-despite-abs-cbn-shutdown/2020/05/ https://www.expatmedia.net/abs-cbn-employees-may-qualify-government-aid/2020/05/
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