Billy Begas
Members of the Makabayan bloc have jointly filed a measure seeking to grant a 25-year legislative franchise to ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp.
In House Bill 1218, ACT Teachers Rep. France Castro, Gabriela Rep. Arlene Brosas, and Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel said that the non-renewal of ABS-CBN franchise “could be construed as an act against the Constitutionally-protected freedom, especially of the right to a free and independent press.”
“We live in a time that democracy is walking on knife’s edge, authoritarianism once again is on the rise. Disinformation, fake news, and historical amnesia reign. In times like these, democratic institutions such as the press are embattled. If the environment is such that media outfits are shuttered rather than allowed to be robust and independent, where truth is muted and turned off rather than broadcast, then our democratic spaces are shrinking indeed,” the explanatory note of the bill read.
Like in other franchises granted by Congress, the proposal contains a provision mandating the grantee “to provide adequate public service time to enable the government, through the use of its broadcasting stations or facilities to reach the population in important public issues.”
A special right is also reserved for the President, in times of war, rebellion, public peril, calamity, emergency disaster, or disturbance of peace and war, to temporarily take over and operate the stations and facilities of the grantee.
“The radio spectrum is a finite resource that is part of the national patrimony and the use thereof is a privilege conferred upon the grantee by the State and may be withdrawn any time after due process,” the bill further read.
