On June 4, 2020, ABS-CBN announced on TV Patrol that the Kapamilya Channel will start airing on June 13, resuming the production of ABS-CBN’s drama and live entertainment programs and broadcasting its entertainment, educational and current affairs programs along with films.
ABS-CBN happily announced the Kapamilya teleseryes that will be available on cable and satellite TV nationwide on June 13, specifically on SKY, Cablelink, G Sat, and most of the Philippine Cable Television Association (PCTA) cable operators nationwide.
These included longest-running primetime series, FPJ’s Ang Probinsyano which will air the first ten episodes of the latest season before showing the latest episodes and A Soldier’s Heart will be on the weeknights while Love Thy Woman will air on weekdays.
After learning this, House Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta targeted ABS-CBN on their cable franchise, questioning why its channels still broadcast the programs of the broadcast network despite the shutdown.
At the joint committee hearing on ABS-CBN’s application for a new operating franchise, Marcoleta said that the separate 25-year operating franchise of Sky Cable had expired last March 30.
“Is the NTC aware of this? And if they are aware, why is it that they consented in airing the programs?”
But NTC Commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba immediately clarified that former President Corazon Aquino had removed the requirement for a franchise for cable TV operators with an executive order.
Executive Order No. 205, released on 30 June 1987, opened the country’s cable antenna television network to all Filipino citizens or “corporations, cooperatives or organizations wholly owned and operated by such persons” on the basis of a certificate of authority provided by the NTC.
“Lumalabas po sa EO ay parang tinanggal po ng EO ang requirement ng prangkisa para po sa mga cable TV operators,” he said.
With this, the Kapamilya channel is not affected by the cease and desist order by the NTC, as the cable and satellite TV channels are owned by different companies.
