- During the Thanksgiving party of Senator Bong Revilla Jr., he was asked about the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN
- According to the Senator, the issue will be tackled and there will be no problem with the renewal if the network didn’t violate anything
- Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) Secretary Lito Yabut formerly explained that it will be impossible to shut down the network giant just because of an expired franchise
- Together with the other pending bills, the ABS-CBN franchise bill will be re-filed once the 18th Congress opens on July 22, 2019
With the news about the alleged freezing of the renewal of the ABS-CBN franchise, the media didn’t let the chance slip to get the insight of Senator Bong Revilla Jr. regarding the issue.
During his thanksgiving party, the Senator was asked his opinion about the problem that ABS-CBN is currently facing.
Senator Revilla stated, “Well, una magsisimula naman yan sa lower house. Pagkatapos yan sa lower house, sasampa yan sa upper house, sa Senate. So, sa akin, wala naman akong nakikitang problema. I just hope na maging maayos ang lahat ng bagay.”
The Senator affirmed that the case of ABS-CBN will be tackled and he sees no problem for the bill to pass and for any amendments to happen especially when the network didn’t violate anything.
” Siyempre, wala namang siguro na violate ang ABS-CBN but tignan naten… Pag-uusapan naman yan and ibig sabihin ita-tackle yan sa floor. So, I dont see any problem na.
“Basta ako as I said, I’m for the people tandaan ninyo, ‘di ako maapektibong tao. Wala akong tanim kahit kanino man. Politika lang yan.. Masaktan ako, okay lang. Pero umasa kayo patas si Bong Revilla,” he added.
He was also asked about the death of Eddie Garcia who met an accident on the set of his series. According to the Senator-actor, what happened was an accident and it’s hard to just point out who is to blame.
He said, “Wala naman may gusto nun eh, so accidente yon. Pero mahirap naman tayo mag pinpoint kung sinong may kasalanan. Pero siyempre lahat tayo nagmamahal kay Tito Eddie. Pero aksidente, basta I’m sure masaya na rin si Tito Eddie ngayon. Sana ‘wag nalang mahaluan ng intriga yung pagkamatay niya. Siyempre ayaw naman natin magka watak-watak, mapapag piestahan pa yung pagkamatay.”
The Congress has also cleared up that there’s no ‘freezing’ of the bill that happened in the House Of Representative despite the vivid “disgust” of the President Rodrigo Duterte with the network whom he thought sabotaged him during his Presidential campaign in 2016.
Nonetheless, the Congress will see to it that the pending bills, including ABS-CBN’s franchise bill, will be re-filed once the 18th Congress opens on July 22, 2019.
Celebrities have been vocal with their sentiments and dismay with what’s happening to their home network through social media. Some of them even signed a petition to appeal to the Congress to approve the franchise renewal of ABS-CBN that will be expiring in the year 2020. Coco Martin, Lea Salonga, Piolo Pascual, Jaime Fabregas, John Arcilla, Angel Aquino, Ricky Lee, and Joel Lamangan to name a few.
