On ABS-CBN's Shut Down (My Second Legal Reflection)

This is not a 40-page Report.

House Committee on Legislative Franchises did not grant the ABS-CBN a fresh franchise. The question is –WHY?

Despite what Bayan Muna party-list Representative Carlos Zarate said that the House was not able to find any evidence of violation committed by ABS-CBN against the Constitution or against any law of the land, the said network’s application for a new franchise was denied. The question is –WHY?

Whether or not there is a reason for rejecting the application of the ABS-CBN for its new franchise, what is clear is the power to grant such a franchise (primarily) belongs to the House Committee on Legislative Franchises. In rejecting the network’s application for a new franchise, the House just exercised its power (not to grant a franchise).

How did it exercise its power? With full discretion. It is discretionary on its part to grant or not to grant a franchise. It was a show of discretion when it chose to hold hearings on the ABS-CBN franchise issue (which were open to the public and covered by media). It was a legitimate use of its discretion whether to listen or not to the opinions of the officials of Department of Justice, Security and Exchange Commission and Bureau of Internal Revenue, and even to the views of ABS-CBN officials. What matters is that there was a hearing conducted, and the House heard all the words of supports as well as words of oppositions regarding the renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise. So what is the use of conducting a hearing? Well, at least the House met the requirements of giving ABS-CBN some due process before the House finally denied its bid for a new franchise. The House granted ABS-CBN its notice for hearing and the opportunity to be heard, and if this was not fair enough for the network, still it has to accept that the decision of the House is final and it cannot be questioned before any court. Unlike those members of the House of Representatives who could file a libel suit against a journalist or media personnel who maliciously maligned them, ABS-CBN cannot go to court to avail legal remedies when the House denied its application for a new franchise.

Of course, in using its power with discretion, the House could have been reasonable and impartial despite its allegations against ABS-CBN for its lack of impartial and objective journalism. But how could the members of the House be impartial? They are politicians. They play politics and the concerns brought before them in the House are mostly political in nature. In every decision they make, it is presumed that they examine it thoroughly or else they will jeopardize their political position. Is this wrong? Well, it happens even in the barangay level that the supporters of the chairman or councilors are given more favor than the rest of the constituents. The oppositions are treated less. They have to do this to stay in power. In saying this, whether the members of the House were in favor of granting the franchise or against the granting of which, their decision affects their political survival.

What happened to ABS-CBN is not part of the new normal. The House of Representatives just exercised its power when it denied the network’s application for a new franchise just like it exercised its power when it impeached officials. Truly this is what it means to say, ang buhay ay weather-weather lang. I personally can accept the fact that the House cannot be impartial even if its members were urged to make a conscience vote (which is applicable only to those who have a conscience) when it denied the network’s application for a new franchise. But they could have been reasonable in making their decision. For HUMANITARIAN REASON, they could have given ABS-CBN a chance to operate with a conditional franchise while punishing its managements for whatever violations they have committed. Although technically what the House did is not a form of mass killing, but being jobless during this time of COVID-19 Pandemic is like killing a thousand of workers of ABS-CBN softly. Those workers will join the rank of those who are already unemployed in the Philippines. How will they survive with this sudden change in their lives? The House could have allowed ABS-CBN to work with a temporary franchise or a franchise with a condition until the pandemic is over. But how can one expect some politicians to be humanitarian even in their advocacy when they know they could buy votes during the election and secure their winning? They know they can politically survive by merely playing the Number Games. They know the rule of majority, and what they need in order to win is to get the votes of the majority. In this sense, they look at people as objects; they can buy their votes. Therefore, when people become too poor that all they do is to depend on the government for their survival, those who are running the government are guaranteed that they stay in power and remain powerful. So with more than a thousand of workers from ABS-CBN who will find themselves jobless, it can be seen that their fate depends on those politicians who can benefit from their votes.  

Now, there is a suggestion for ABS-CBN to resort to People's Initiative. What I can say is that they should look at what happened to the People’s Initiative against Pork Barrel. It failed to get the numbers of signatures the proponents expected to get during their signature campaign. Why? -Politicians...