Senator Sherwin Gatchalian said that they’re ready to accept President Rodrigo Duterte as one of their guests amid their plan to launch a senate investigation on ABS-CBN’s franchise.
In an interview, Gatchalian said that the President can be invited by the Senate if he wanted to complain about the practices of the said broadcasting company.
“The committee can request to the President his opinion regarding this oversight hearing,” Gatchalian said.
“As a rule, anyone who can help shed light in the allegations pwede namang maimbitahan,” he added.
According to him, it’s not required for the President to appear personally before the senate committee and he has an option to send a letter or a counsel.
“Nakita naman natin, Presidents and Secretaries can be represented by their counsels,” he said.
When asked for clarification, Gatchalian said that they ‘can invite’ Duterte if the committee tasked to investigate the ABS-CBN franchise wanted it.
Gatchalian believes that the senate hearing could be a good place to talk about the accusations against ABS-CBN.
“So it will be neutral ground to discover and to analyze whether the allegations are true or not,” he said.
He also clarified that any outcome from their hearing would not affect the franchise of ABS-CBN because it’s still up for the Congress if they’re going to approve the franchise of the television network.
The Senator from Valenzuela is one of the lawmakers who asked to investigate the alleged illegal practices by ABS-CBN after the Office of the Solicitor General filed a quo warranto petition against the broadcasting company.
Senator Grace Poe is one of the first Senators who called for an investigation.
“Due to the gravity of the allegations and its possible effects, the committee has deemed it appropriate to lay the groundwork for a possible inquiry in the spirit of public interest,” Poe said in a statement Thursday.