Metro Pacific Investments Corp. chairman and president Manny V. Pangilinan reportedly pulled the plug on the ABS-CBN-TV5 and Cignal-SKY Cable deal after some influential Congress leaders gave him a ‘fair warning’ that would endanger the franchises of PLDT and Meralco.
In an article published by Bilyonaryo, an insider said that MVP decided to abandon the landmark deal in order to protect the MVP group’s ‘crown jewels.’
“Pangilinan has been reportedly given fair warning that he should drop his planned ‘merger’ with ABS-CBN or Congress would give his group a tough time renewing the franchises of PLDT and Meralco,” the insider was quoted saying.
MVP’s move to terminate both deals reflect the chilling effect that advocates and think tanks have been pointing out since ABS-CBN was shutdown in 2020. Analyst Terry Ridon said that the termination has implications for press freedom and enterprise.
“Only now have contracts been terminated due to objections from those in power. This creates a chilling effect on the media and its owners, as two of the country’s most respected media institutions have terminated a well-intentioned transaction that would have pushed the envelope of reportage and public service,” he said.
Ridon added, “If it can happen to the biggest media entities, it can happen to the smallest ones.”
“It’s undue interference in the affairs of the business community and sends the wrong message to its innovative initiatives. The deal could have made more information available to Filipinos. Again, the losers are the citizens and their right to know, which is aided by multiple sources of information,” former dean of the UP College of Mass Communication Luis Teodoro also said.
ACT Teachers Partylist Rep. France Castro lamented the deal’s abortion saying, “the termination of the ABS-CBN-TV5 deal is unfortunate and will cause a chilling effect on press freedom as well as businesses planning to operate here in the Philippines whether local or foreign.”
“Such a practice, trying to muzzle media, is inimical to democracy and now harassing even an above board business deal will send a negative signal to investors that some officials in this country are unprincipled, whimsical, and vindictive. Surefire signs of a very bad investment climate in the country,” she explained.
Another staunch supporter of the landmark investment deal, Rep. Edcel Lagman, also said that the termination has deprived the public of “fair and healthy competition in the television and broadcast industry.”
“TV5 and ABS-CBN have scuttled their joint venture agreement under the backdrop of tirades against the agreement from some legislators and the errant demand of the House of Representatives and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) that they should first approve the agreement. Another victim of the termination is the viewing public for being deprived of the emergence of fair and healthy competition in the television and broadcast industry, which could have been ushered in by the agreement,” he said.
Meanwhile, Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles shared that the termination of ABS-CBN and TV5’s investment agreement is a welcome opportunity for state-run networks PTV-4 and IBC-13 to grow and thrive.
“In a very small part of my head, sinasabi ko sa sarili ko: at least may pagkakataon pong lumaki ang PTV tsaka IBC dahil nawalan po ng kompetensya. Ang kailangan na lang po namin, palakasin,” she said during deliberations of her office’s budget at the House appropriations panel.
But healthy competition among players is what’s needed for the TV industry to flourish, as pointed out by the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), which is mandated to prevent monopolies. Diverse options for the viewing public are encouraged to prevent a monopoly of state-run or private networks from rising.
As of this writing, there are two new bills filed in Congress that seeks to grant ABS-CBN with a fresh franchise. These were filed Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and Rep. Gabriel Bordado Jr.
Earlier, Rep. Johnny Pimentel and lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc namely, Rep. France Castro, Rep. Arlene Brosas, and Rep. Raoul Danniel Manuel, also filed similar bills.
Will these be strong enough to convince Congress to give ABS-CBN a chance to get back on air? Let’s wait and see.
