Senator Grace Poe said that Congress has to approve ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal first before they can do anything in the Senate.
“Marami akong nakausap na kasama natin doon (Senate), suportado naman nila ang pagre-renew nito pero siyempre kikilatisin din mabuti ang magiging kasunduan sa franchise. Pero alam mo ang Senado kahit i-approve namin ‘yan, pag ito hindi gumagalaw sa Kongreso, wala rin mangyayari.”
She also stated that ABS-CBN should be given the chance to present their plans if ever the Congress will provide them the privilege to run on air for the coming years.
Sen. Poe continued: “Para sa akin naman, maraming nabibigyan ng trabaho, napatunayan naman na nakakapag-serbisyo sila, walang perpekto, may mga pagkakamali. Kaya lahat ‘yan itinitimbang, at mabigyan ng pagkakataon na i-prisinta ang kanilang magiging plano kung mabibigyan sila ng prangkisa.”
As of this writing, ABS-CBN only has one more month before its franchise expires on March 30, 2020. As part of the Senate Committee, Poe firmly believes that they also have the obligation to start the hearing aside from Congress.
“Dapat talaga nag-uumpisa sa House, pero there are instances for example that we can have a hearing simultaneously or the Senate can take the initiative to start the hearing just to get the ball rolling. In this case, mag-March na, mukang sa tingin ko, may obligasyon rin kami na at least umpisahan.“
Furthermore, Poe suggested to any business owners who are currently experiencing the same situation of ABS-CBN to get a probationary permit to operate from NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordova. The only question is, will Cordova allow ABS-CBN to have a temporary permit to run its business.
She continued: “Kung nag-expire na ang prangkisa, at hindi pa tapos ang franchise deliberations at option ng ano mang prangkisa na suspinde muna ay humingi ng probational permit to operate mula sa NTC. Ang tanong, bibigyan ba sila ni Mr. Cordova ng permit to operate temporarily, probationary? ‘Yun ang ginagawa ng maraming nag-expire na pero di pa tapos ang prangkisa, probational permit to operate.”
Sen. Poe on Eddie Garcia Law
Meanwhile, Poe agreed that anyone who works in the entertainment industry deserves to be protected by the Eddie Garcia Law.
“Sa tingin ko nararapat lang na mabigyan ng karagdagang proteksyon ang ating mga kasamahan sa industriya. Lalong lao na napaka-haba ng panahon ng pagta-trabaho, ‘yung iba 24 hours tuloy tuloy kaya mas lalong na-aksidente. Dagdagan natin, meron ng mga batas na naipasama sa DOLE, kaya lang siguro mas kailangan mas specific lang sa movie industry itong Eddie Garcia Law. Dahil nga working conditions ng showbiz ay iba.”
