ABS-CBN and its struggle to obtain its franchise: While the law remains unchanged, what now
will become of the country’s biggest television network?

Last Tuesday night, after ABS-CBN's 33-year-old flagship news programTV

Patrol signed off, Lupang Hinirang played instead of the network's usual lineup of teleseryes.
After a closing message from the network, the screen turns black. The National
Telecommunications Commission (NTC) against the corporation after its legislative franchise
expired. With this unprecedented move by a government agency on the largest media network in
the country, many questions remain unanswered and many will remain unanswered in the days to
come. While the law remains unchanged, what now will become of the country’s biggest
television network? The shutdown caused an up roar across the country, with people taking to
social media to express their outrage. Schools, student publications and organizations have
issued statements, condemning NTC’s order and declaring solidarity with the media giant.

The extra TVPlus channels (5 out of the 7) are encrypted, and thus not free-to-air. You
need to obtain the TVPlus appliance and a paid subscription in order to be able to view them.
This has become relevant recently, because an obscure group known as FICTAP, the Federation
of International Cable Television Associates of the Philippines, has been alleging that ABS-CBN
violated its franchise by broadcasting more than one channel on its TVPlus frequency. FICTAP's
complaint is nonsense, because the franchise (which is a law) explicitly allows ABS-CBN to
broadcast on its assigned frequencies, with no mention of any limits, or even the word "channel".
Both Congress and the NTC are well aware of the potential to broadcast multiple channels on the
same frequency.  In any case, the NTC granted additional frequencies to ABS-CBN for its digital
channels. In March, NTC said that they would issue a provisional authority to allow ABS-CBN
and its businesses  to operate atleast until June 2022Furthermore, on March 16, . NTC signed a
memo stating, “All subsisting permits, permits necessary to operate and maintain broadcast and
pay TV facilities nationwide expiring within the quarantine period shall automatically be
renewed and shall continue to be valid sixty (60) days after the end of the government-imposed
quarantine period. Thereafter, these stations shall be given sixty (60) days to file for the renewal
of their permits/licenses without penalties or surcharges.” The memo cited telecommunications
as one of the basic necessities during the ECQ. The order, which came a day after the network’s
25-year-franchise expired, was issued despite the fact that last March 16, the same commission
stated that franchises expiring while the community quarantine over Luzon is in effect are
extended until 60 days after the quarantine is lifted. This order could not have come at a more
detrimental time. Between the time TV Patrol went on air till midnight on the day it temporarily
went dark, more than a million tweets demanded an end to the shutdown of ABS-CBN.ABS-
CBN’s chief executive officer Carlo Katigbak vows the network will be back, nor will it allow
the setback to stop delivery of important news and entertainment to millions of Filipinos.TV
Patrol anchor Noli De Castro ended the program fighting words: “We will not be silenced
despite this attack on our democracy and press freedom. In the face of this challenge facing our
company and livelihood, we will not turn our backs on you.” This nation knows silence is not an
option. That way lies disaster, an open highway to abuse, corruption and massive trampling of
our rights.

In this global pandemic, Not only did the shameful act deprive the Filipino people of their
right to be properly informed but also thousands of workers of their jobs and livelihood. The
broadcasting network employs more than 11,000 employees, and its operations have pooled
funding for relief programs through its channels, aiding those heavily affected by the pandemic.
Moreover, the network has been a major source of key information and news on the COVID-19
pandemic The order not only hinders our right to press freedom but puts thousands of ABS-CBN
workers’ employment in harm’s way. In this global pandemic, the administration must aim to
protect the nation’s health, and not their self-vested interests. In other words, it takes but a
moment, and not a lot of debate, to determine whether or not a company has complied with its
franchise conditions, or not. It's a binary question, yes or no. If that company has not clearly
violated any franchise condition, then the franchise should be renewed. In fact, franchises should
automatically renew, unless there is a formal legal objection. Think about it. Why should we give
the government that kind of power over business? But this is the Philippines. Quite a few people
have asked, if it is so simple, and there were no violations, why wasn't the franchise renewed,
when ABS-CBN first applied for renewal in 2014? Because, Congress.  If you think that the
people responsible for tackling this issue were simply too busy to attend to it, you must have
been born yesterday. On the other hand, you believe that these same people were sitting around
waiting for a payoff from ABS-CBN, in terms of money or some kind of power, the power to say
no, and the power to delay, or not decide. This is at the very core of corruption in our political
system. A government official is easy to sue for doing something, but they are very difficult to
sue for not doing something. In other words, the congressmen have absolutely no legal liability
for failing to do their duty. Will Congress step up to the plate and finally pass the renewal? I
doubt it. They will find other ways to avoid it until the next election. Their perception is that to
pass the renewal is to oppose the president. No one wants to oppose the president, either because
they benefit from his regime, or they simply do not have the strength of character to do what is
right. When a government is able to block a multi-billion peso business from operating for no
good reason, that is, simply, wrong on all levels, whether from a moral, legal, or practical
standpoint. This is a clear abuse of political power and twisting of the law. Because it is wrong,
we must say so, and we must fight it.