“He does not seem to know the provisions of the Constitution.”
Outgoing Senator Franklin Drilon is probably getting senile already. At 76 years old, he seems to have forgotten what the Constitution provides. Being a lawyer and a veteran legislator, that is embarrassing.
In July 2020, the House of Representatives of Congress refused to renew the legislative franchise of broadcast giant ABS-CBN Corporation, which expired earlier that year. The House took the view that ABS-CBN violated the terms of its previous franchise.
Under the Constitution, Congress has the unbridled power and discretion not to renew any legislative franchise that has already expired. If Congress does not want to renew an expired franchise, there is nothing Malacañang or the Supreme Court can do about that. The Supreme Court itself said so in its decision promulgated on August 25, 2020.
At the time the House committee on legislative franchises was deliberating on the application of ABS-CBN to renew its expired franchise, several House members and senators lobbied for the renewal of the broadcast giant’s license. It was a very low moment in the history of Congress, because many of the legislators who lobbied for the renewal had vested interests in the continued operations of ABS-CBN.
Among the legislators who threw delicadeza to the wind and called for the ABS-CBN franchise renewal despite the apparent conflict of interest involved include Representatives Joy Myra Tambunting and Joselito Atienza, and Senators Juan Edgardo Angara and Grace Poe.
Tambunting used to be an executive of ABS-CBN; Atienza’s son was then a well-paid talent of the network; Angara’s wife also worked for the network; and ABS-CBN pays Poe’s family for the right to broadcast films of her late father, box office king Fernando Poe, Jr.
ABS-CBN tried to portray itself as a victim of a vengeful administration, but it toned down on its self-serving propaganda after the August 2020 decision of the Supreme Court exposed that there is no truth to the protestations of the network.
Despite the expiration of its legislative franchise, ABS-CBN is still on the air today, mainly through its cable television facility Sky Cable, and its temporary but nonetheless illegal use of the franchise of Zoe Broadcasting, which broadcasts as the A2Z Channel (A for ABS-CBN; 2 for ABS-CBN’s flagship television channel 2; and Z for Zoe).
That arrangement is illegal because under the legislative franchise of Zoe Broadcasting does not allow it to share its franchise with anyone else without the prior permission of Congress. My last check with Congress shows that no such permission has been obtained by Zoe from Congress.
By violating its own legislative franchise, Zoe Broadcasting is courting the strong possibility that Congress will revoke its license to broadcast.
In February 2021, I formally requested the National Telecommunications Commission to investigate the ABS-CBN-Zoe deal. NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba promised to look into it. Almost a year has passed but Cordoba has not informed me of the results of his promised investigation. I am considering filing administrative raps against Cordoba.
Last month, Tambunting filed House Bill No. 7923 which provides that a broadcast network whose franchise has expired shall be allowed to continue its broadcast operations during the pendency of its application for the renewal of its expired franchise. Obviously, Tambunting’s bill favors ABS-CBN.
Tambunting seems unaware that the Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that what may not be done directly, should not be done indirectly.
Solicitor General Jose Calida says House Bill No. 7923 wants to allow a broadcast facility to operate even without a franchise, in violation of the constitutional principles governing legislative franchises in the first place.
By the way, Calida is affiliated with the political party of Zoe Broadcasting owner and pastor Eddie Villanueva and his son, Senator Joel Villanueva. Father and son have successfully used their church as a stepping stone to political power and influence.
The big surprise is that Drilon filed Senate Bill No. 1530 which echoes House Bill No. 7923.
Both bills do not sit well with Cavite Representative Jesus Crispin Remulla of the House committee on legislative franchises. Remulla was mainly responsible for the non-renewal of the ABS-CBN franchise last year.
According to Remulla, ABS-CBN does not deserve the renewal because it had been using the franchise of the Amcara Broadcasting Network, which is a violation of the provisions of the now-expired franchise of ABS-CBN.
Further, Remulla scored Drilon for meddling in the exclusive domain of the House. Under the Constitution, a bill calling for the issuance or renewal of a legislative franchise for a private corporation must emanate from the House, and not from the Senate.
As a lawyer and a veteran legislator, Drilon ought to be aware of that provision in the Constitution, unless he’s getting senile already.
Fortunately for the public interest, Drilon is considering retiring from politics once his current term ends in June this year.
