MANILA -- ABS-CBN Corp on Thursday informed the stock exchange that the House is deliberating on a bill that will grant it a provisional franchise until Oct. 31.

The Philippines' largest media and entertainment company signed off on orders of the National Telecommunications Commission on May 5, a day after its 25-year franchise expired.

House Bill 6732 was passed on second reading at the Committee of the Whole on Wednesday. It will require passage on third and final reading before it is transmitted to the Senate, then to President Rodrigo Duterte for his signature and enactment into law.

Trading in shares of ABS-CBN remains suspended.

• House Committee of the Whole OKs bill giving ABS-CBN provisional franchise until October
• ABS-CBN to go off air in compliance with NTC order
• ABS-CBN shares on trading halt after regulator forces sign off

Here is the full text of the disclosure:

On May 13, 2020, the House of Representatives Committee of the Whole approved on second reading House Bill 6732 (HB 6732) or “An Act Granting the ABS-CBN Corporation A Franchise to Construct, Install, Operate and Maintain Radio and Television Broadcasting Stations in the Philippines, and For Other Purposes”, which bill grants ABS-CBN Corporation a franchise valid until October 31, 2020.

The passage of HB 6732 follows the legislative process on the passage of a law. As the said bill was approved on the second reading, it will be scheduled for a third reading for its approval by the House of Representatives. The approved bill is transmitted to the Senate for its concurrence.

At the Senate, a bill undergoes the same process as that of the House of Representatives. If a bill is approved by the Senate, copies of the bill, signed by the Senate President and Speaker of the House of the Representatives, will be transmitted to the President for his action. If a bill is approved by the President, it generally becomes law after its publication.