ABS-CBN shutdown impossible despite franchise expiration? KBP Sec. Lito Yabut explains

In 2018, President Rodrigo Duterte strongly disapproved of the renewal of ABS-CBN’s franchise that will expire by 2020
Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) Secretary Lito Yabut cleared that it’s impossible for ABS-CBN to shut down just because its franchise expired
For the record, there hasn’t been any broadcast station that was shut down because of an expired franchise

The issue regarding the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN has been in the headlines of newspapers and news sites for weeks now.

President Rodrigo Duterte had earlier issued a statement highly disapproving the renewal of the ABS-CBN franchise that is about to terminate in the year 2020.

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His reason? Instead of airing his political advertisements during the 2016 Presidential Election, the network aired an advertisement critical of Duterte which was paid by former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV.

“Hindi ko palusutin. Iyong franchise niyo matatapos. But let me ask you questions first. Kasi ako talaga mag-object na ma-renew kayo. Alam mo bakit? Magnanakaw kayo, estapador,” the President stated.

Because of this, many celebrities who will be affected raised their sentiments on social media. Some of them even signed a petition urging the House of Representatives to renew the franchise of the network. Coco Martin, Lea Salonga, Piolo Pascual, Jaime Fabregas, John Arcilla, Angel Aquino, Ricky Lee, and Joel Lamangan- to name a few.

However, Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) Secretary Lito Yabut clarified that it’s impossible for the network to shut down just because its franchise has expired. And to date, there has not been any broadcast station that was shut down because the franchise expired.

In an interview with One News, the KBP Secretary said, “There never was a broadcast station that was shut down because the franchise expired — never in the history of the Philippines. My father knows that, Gabby Lopez’s father knows that. Wala, wala. No such thing.”

(Wala pang istasyong naipasara dahil lamang sa isang expired na prangkisa, wala pa sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas. Alam ‘yan ng tatay ko, alam ‘yan ng tatay ni Gabby Lopez. Wala, wala. Walang ganyan.)

Eugenio Gabriel “Gabby” L. López III is the former chairman of ABS-CBN whom Duterte called a “swindler” after Duterte falsely accused him of stealing billions from people.