Senate defers February 24 session to tackle ABS-CBN franchise

Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA - The Senate will not hold a plenary session on February 24 to give way to committee discussions on ABS-CBN's application to renew its franchise, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said Wednesday.About 19 senators are expected to participate in the Senate Committee on Public Services hearing, Zubiri told ABS-CBN News."About 80 percent of senators have signified that they will be attending so we are expecting a full house in terms of the membership of the Senate to attend and question resource persons," he said.Senators in a "mini caucus" decided to defer the session to give the committee "enough time" to tackle the issue.Under Senate rules, committee hearings must be done before 2:50 p.m., 10 minutes before the chamber's 3 p.m. session."The Committee of Sen. Grace Poe will have enough time - even if she wants all the way up to the evening - to be able to propound questions on the resource persons on this franchise application," said the majority leader, who is in charge of the chamber's schedule."The Senate is a collegial body. We make a collective decision and that was the decision we arrived at," he said.Poe earlier decided to tackle ABS-CBN's franchise without waiting for action from the House of Representatives. Under the law, franchise bills must emanate from the House before the Senate can decide on it since a license to operate is considered as a local bill.The Senate can hold an inquiry provided that the panel will not produce a committee report while the House has not yet transmitted its decision on the issue, Poe said.Several senators have backed Poe's move, saying ABS-CBN's franchise needs to be tackled it will expire on March 30, 2020, putting at stake some 11,000 jobs.At least 11 bills seeking to renew ABS-CBN's 25-year franchise have languished in the House of Representatives since July 2019. House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano earlier said that the issue was not a priority of the chamber.Last week, Solicitor General Jose Calida asked the Supreme Court to invalidate ABS-CBN's franchise due to alleged violations, including a ban on foreign ownership of media entities.ABS-CBN has denied wrongdoing, saying the network has never violated laws in its 65-year service.Calida also urged the high court to issue a gag order on parties representing the network. The court gave ABS-CBN 5 days to comment on the Solicitor General's plea.news.abs-cbn.com is the news website of ABS-CBN Corp.

Under Senate rules, committee hearings must be done before 2:50 p.m., 10 minutes before the chamber's 3 p.m. session."The Committee of Sen. Grace Poe will have enough time - even if she wants all the way up to the evening - to be able to propound questions on the resource persons on this franchise application," said the majority leader, who is in charge of the chamber's schedule."The Senate is a collegial body. We make a collective decision and that was the decision we arrived at," he said.Poe earlier decided to tackle ABS-CBN's franchise without waiting for action from the House of Representatives. Under the law, franchise bills must emanate from the House before the Senate can decide on it since a license to operate is considered as a local bill.The Senate can hold an inquiry provided that the panel will not produce a committee report while the House has not yet transmitted its decision on the issue, Poe said.Several senators have backed Poe's move, saying ABS-CBN's franchise needs to be tackled it will expire on March 30, 2020, putting at stake some 11,000 jobs.At least 11 bills seeking to renew ABS-CBN's 25-year franchise have languished in the House of Representatives since July 2019. House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano earlier said that the issue was not a priority of the chamber.Last week, Solicitor General Jose Calida asked the Supreme Court to invalidate ABS-CBN's franchise due to alleged violations, including a ban on foreign ownership of media entities.ABS-CBN has denied wrongdoing, saying the network has never violated laws in its 65-year service.Calida also urged the high court to issue a gag order on parties representing the network. The court gave ABS-CBN 5 days to comment on the Solicitor General's plea.news.abs-cbn.com is the news website of ABS-CBN Corp.

"About 80 percent of senators have signified that they will be attending so we are expecting a full house in terms of the membership of the Senate to attend and question resource persons," he said.Senators in a "mini caucus" decided to defer the session to give the committee "enough time" to tackle the issue.

MANILA - The Senate will not hold a plenary session on February 24 to give way to committee discussions on ABS-CBN's application to renew its franchise, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said Wednesday.About 19 senators are expected to participate in the Senate Committee on Public Services hearing, Zubiri told ABS-CBN News.

The Senate will not hold a plenary session on February 24 to give way to committee discussions on ABS-CBN's application to renew its franchise, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said Wednesday.

The Senate will not hold a plenary session on February 24 to give way to committee discussions on ABS-CBN's application to renew its franchise, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said Wednesday.

Senate defers February 24 session to tackle ABS-CBN franchise | ABS-CBN News

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Senate defers February 24 session to tackle ABS-CBN franchise

Senate defers February 24 session to tackle ABS-CBN franchise