House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano assured ABS-CBN that their followers can still enjoy their shows even if their franchise reached its limit in March 2020.
In an interview with the reporters, the House Speaker said that this is not yet the right time to talk about the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN, as many people are still hot-headed about the issue.
Instead of debating about the fate of ABS-CBN, Cayetano asked the netizens to have a soul-searching.
According to him, if they launch a hearing now about the ABS-CBN franchise, it will consume all the energy of the 18th Congress.
“Pustahan tayo, lahat ng anti, pipila makapagsalita. Lahat ng pro, pipila para magsalita. Kaya kung gusto ko mag-grandstand lang, ay papatawag na ‘ko ng hearing kaagad,” Cayetano said.
“The who’s who of the Philippines, lahat ng celebrities, basketball players, media, mag-aattend kayong lahat e. Pero is it the right timing? Tanungin niyo. Tayo ba lahat nasa right frame of mind ngayon o may mga init ng ulo pa?” he added.
He insisted that the ABS-CBN franchise is not an ‘urgent’ thing in Congress because it can still operate until March 2022 as they wanted to tackle more important bills.
“Don’t get me wrong, napaka importante ng franchise ng ABS-CBN, hindi lang sa 11,000 empleyado, importante ito sa buong bansa, sa demokrasya natin, pero hindi ganon ka urgent, bakit? Kasi hanggang march 2022 pwedeng mag operate eh,” Cayetano said.
Cayetano also explained that the reason why ABS-CBN franchise won’t expire on March 30 is because of the publication date of the previous renewal of the broadcasting company in the Official Gazette.
Cayetano confirmed the same thing in a previous interview, telling ABS-CBN not to worry because they are not going to close down in March 2020.
House Speaker Alan Cayetano on ABS-CBN: Huwag kayong mag aalaala dahil hindi mag-o-off the air ang inyong show pero sa ngayon napakaraming inaasikaso ng Kongreso. | via @R_G_Cruz888
— ABS-CBN News Channel (@ANCALERTS) February 14, 2020
“Huwag kayong mag aalaala dahil hindi mag-o-off the air ang inyong show pero sa ngayon napakaraming inaasikaso ng Kongreso,” he said.
The House Speaker told the reporters when is the right time to talk about the franchise of ABS-CBN.
“When the time comes, but definitely before March 2022. Possibly, in May, if we have enough time and we have cooler heads and with all the issues. Worst case, after SONA,” said Cayetano.