House vows impartial hearings on ABS-CBN franchise renewal

SPEAKER Alan Peter Cayetano has reiterated his appeal for calm and sobriety among critics and supporters of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation.

Addressing his colleagues on Tuesday during the second House hearing on the ABS-CBN franchise issue, Cayetano said it would have easier for congressmen “to go with the flow and approve or deny the (network’s) franchise like what the extremists on the opposite camps want us to do.”

“But we cannot do that, because it is wrong. What is right is we hear every side, give everyone the opportunity to speak, gather all the facts, and make a fair and an impartial decision. It is wrong to resort to bullying and making threats and insults. Let us respect each other’s opinion,” said Cayetano.

Cayetano repeated his commitment for “a fair, impartial, comprehensive, and thorough examination of all the facts regarding this issue.”

“That commitment has not wavered nor changed despite all the criticism that has been thrown at Congress, and at me personally,” he said.

He urged ABS-CBN critics and supporters alike not to let anger prevail.

“That is un-Filipino, that is not what responsible citizens do. Let’s debate, let us stand for our principles, but let us also love each other, he said.

He said the hearings on the proposed grant of a fresh broadcasting privilege to ABS-CBN are “not just about the network and its franchise.”

“They are also about Congress and how we conduct ourselves. And this I will promise - we will listen to the facts as they are presented and weigh the opinions as they are given - but we will not be bullied, threatened, ignored, or manipulated by anyone from doing our duty. From doing what is right,” he said.

He asked all those who have something to say on the network and its franchise to attend the hearings or communicate to the committee on legislative franchises and the committee on good government their opinions and to present the facts.

“Let us hear all sides with an open mind,” Cayetano said.

The Speaker has lamented that the debate on the ABS-CBN franchise issue has become a “poisoned well” and that the pro and anti sides have resorted to name-calling and throwing insults at each other.

“At this time of Covid-19 pandemic, we should be united and not divided. We can be passionate in our stand on the ABS-CBN issue, on divorce, on the death penalty, but let us not fight, let us not insult each other, so that our focus will not veer away from Covid-19 and the needs of our people,” he said.