MONDAY / FEBRUARY 24, 2O2O
WWW.INQUIRER.NET
Palace wonlt meddle
in Senate hearing on
ABS-CBN franchise
ByJulle M. Aurelio,
Madon Ramos and DJ Yap
@Team_Inquirer
Mahcanang will not intrude
. into the Senate hearing on Mon-
' day on the issue of ABS-CBN'S
franchise and the quo warranto
petition seeking to nullify it.
Presidential spokesperson Sal-
vador Panelo mainained that tlre
Palace would just let other brandt-
es of govemment Perform their
jobs and would keep its distance.
"That's their (senators) de-
cision. The Palace does not in-
terfere in every move of the
House, the Senate," Panelo said.
SeIL Grace Poe, chair of the
' senate public services commit-
tee, s4d they would invite Solici
tor General Jose Calida to appear
at the hearing on Monday.
Calida has filed a quo warran-
to petition asking the Supreme
Court to nullify ABS-CBN'S ftan-
chise due to alleged abuses. He
also asked the high court to issue
a gag order on ABS-CBN to pre-
vent it from discussing issues
pertainiig to its ftanchise.
The President has repeatedly
accused ABS-CBN of duping him
when the media network alleg€dly
failed to air a paid political adver-
tisement in the 2016 elections.
Poe. last week announced
that she would go ahead with the
hearing despite House Speaker
Alan Peter Cayetano's claim dnt
it would violate the Constitutioq
which mandated that proposed
measures, such as confiressional
franchises, should be fust aP-
\\ r"Aqg
proved by the House.
But Sen Juan zuardo Anga-
ra, a lawyer, reiected Cayetano s
argunenq saing no less than
the Supreme Court had plevi-
ous$ nned tlnt tlle 'brigina-
tion clauser in the constitution
"merely requires tle senate
acting as a body, to withhold any
action on a primte bill still pend-
ing" inthe lower dnmber.
"There is no violation of
the constitution with regard
to the hearing ... on the issues
surrounding the ftanchise of
ABS-CBN," Angara said in a
V:ber {ressage.
The House leadership s in-
action on the renewal of ABS-
CBN'S ftanchisi is 'bordering
on illegality," according to
Buhay Rep. Lito Atierz4 as he
scored Cayetano for dragging
his feet on the u pending bills
despite apparent widespread
support ftom lawmakers.
The former ManiLa mayor
and father of ABS-CBN host
Kim Atienza said on Sunday
he believed a rnaiority of the
House's 3oz mernbers were
supportive of ttrc media net-
worlCs ftanchise renewal, but
it was tlie Speaker who was
blockins iL
"lcayetano] does not want
to take it up. The application
papers are sleeping in the
drawers of the committee on
legislative] ftanchises," Atienza
said in an interview on &Mlvl,
ABS-CBNS radio sation
"That to me is bordering
on illegality," he added. no
-A€,