ABS-CBN might need to wait a little longer before it can see the light for a new franchise.
The glint of hope for ABS-CBN’s new franchise suddenly went bleak after House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco broke the bad news.
Kapamilyas’ hopes to obtain a new franchise got shattered, when Velasco said that any efforts of reviving the franchise of Kapamilya network would have to wait for the next administration.
“Calls to revive the franchise of ABS-CBN will have to wait until the next Congress.”
He added, “With a little over a year until the 2022 elections, the House of Representatives is bent on finishing the remaining priority measures of this administration to ensure that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte fulfills his campaign promise to the Filipino people.”
The Speaker’s statement came after President Duterte issued a fresh attack against the Lopezes and ABS-CBN.
Duterte in his late-night weekly taped state address said that he will not let ABS-CBN operate again even if Congress grants them the broadcast franchise it needed.
ABS-CBN has been shutdown since May 2020. It is due to the expiration of its franchise and the cease-and-desist order by the NTC.
In July 2020, the Network’s franchise application got rejected by 70 Cayetano-led congressmen, which led to a massive lay-off of its workforce.
Currently, ABS-CBN shows are airing on A2Z Channel 11 via a block-time agreement with Zoe Broadcasting Network. Recently, 2 ABS-CBN programs ASAP Natin ‘To and FPJ Da King get another airtime ion TV5 through its block-time deal is with Brightlight Productions.
