House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said that they’re still not sure if the franchise renewal of the networking giant ABS-CBN is going to be passed in the Congress.
Cayetano, in an interview, said that he cannot yet answer about the status of the franchise of the said network because they’re still prioritizing revenue bills.
“iyong priority at focus natin ay iyong revenue bills para mabayaran ang magagandang programa ng gobyerno at iyong budget. That’s the reality there but we will get to it,” Cayetano said.
The Speaker also mentioned some of his disappointment with ABS-CBN, especially during the 2016 presidential campaign.
However, he said that they’re still going to protect the freedom of the press and not going to oppose any attempts to renew the franchise of the networking giant.
“People like me, ako may angal din ako. I’ll tell you, this is my personal [opinion] ha?” said Cayetano.
“On one hand, I feel that we have to protect the freedom of press and freedom of expression. On the other hand, I feel that [there are] certain instances in history and in the 2016 election na nakialam unjustly some sectors or some leaders of ABS. So how do you sort it out?” he added.
ABS-CBN’s franchise is set to expire by March 2020 and some lawmakers are pushing for a 25-year extension of the said network.
If Congress fails to pass the franchise renewal, ABS-CBN is required to close down its operation on both television and radio.