By Caryl Gonzales

Senate deputy minority leader Risa Hontiveros and SAGIP Rep. Rodante Marcoleta clashed when the issue of the ABS-CBN shutdown was reignited during Commission on Appointments (CA) public hearing.

Hontiveros grilled the former National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) commissioner Gamaliel Cordoba on his ad-interim appointment as Commission on Audit (COA) chairman.

To recall, during Cardoba’s term, the NTC issued an order to ABS-CBN directing it to “cease and desist” from broadcasting on television and radio on May 5, 2020, despite Cardoba’s oath to grant the company a provisional authority to operate. 

Cordoba said he made the vow to the House months before the media giant’s closure was based on the Department of Justice’s legal advice. He continued by saying that the agency “carefully” considered the decision to follow Supreme Court jurisprudence.

The deputy minority leader was unsatisfied with Cardoba’s incapability to “push the envelope” at the time, asserting that the NTC appeared to give in to former solicitor general Jose Calida’s threat to bring legal action against NTC commissioners if they grant ABS-CBN a reprieve.

She also emphasized that certain networks in the past were still permitted to operate after their franchise had expired.

Hontiveros, also a former broadcast journalist, pointed out a lot of ABS-CBN workers lost their jobs in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic due to NTC’s order.

The former NTC commissioner apologized to those who were affected by the shutdown.

“Kaya nga po during the House hearings noon, ako po ay humingi ng paumanhin sa mga taong naapektuhan dahil ginawa ko lang naman ang aking trabaho at sinunod ko lang naman po ang batas. Gusto ko pong ulitin ngayon, pasensya na po I just had to follow the rule of law,” Cordoba said.

In Cordoba’s defense, Marcoleta interjected, saying Hontiveros is interrogating Cordoba in an unproductive manner and only “belaboring” the issue.

Marcoleta was one of the main advocates of shutting down ABS-CBN in the House in the 18th Congress.

‘ABS-CBN Shutdown: ‘Continuing injustice’’

Marcoleta added that the issue is not about press freedom but the franchise.

“Ito po historical na po ito. It’s not about press freedom, it’s about franchise. Iba po ‘yun eh. We should not belabor on this case,” Marcoleta claimed.

["This is historical. It's not about press freedom, it's about the franchise. That's different. We should not labor on this case,”]

However, Hontiveros declined his remark noting the shutdown of ABS-CBN is a “continuing injustice” that has yet to be resolved.

"I am not belaboring, I am raising questions and receiving answers sa mga issues na unresolved. It is not moot and academic. Kasi ito po, sa aking hamak na opinyon lamang, ay isang continuing injustice. Hindi siya naging win-win situation,” she said

“How can we say that this is not about press freedom, it’s about franchise? Sa issue pong ito, nagbuhol-buhol yung dalawang iyon. Of course, it is about press freedom! Dahil broadcasting company ang humihingi ng renewal of franchise,” she added.

[How can we say that this is not about freedom of the press, and this is about the franchise? In this issue, those two got tangled up. Of course, this is about freedom of the press! Because the broadcasting company is asking for the renewal of franchise,”]

‘Poe on ABS-CBN Shutdown: We’ve lost good source of news’

Meanwhile, Senator Grace Poe backed Hontiveros' assertions, noting that ABS-CBN’s shutdown has impacted free television and radio, especially in regions outside Metro Manila.

“Not having ABS-CBN, we’ve lost a good source of news and information. I think our candidate for the Commission of Audit will agree,” Poe said.

She added ABS-CBN’s regional stations and offices helped disseminate information, particularly during calamities.

Poe cited Typhoon Odette as an example: “We didn’t realize the devastation until a day or two after that. And these are in media centers like Cebu and even in Surigao and Bohol. So, talagang pilay.”

She then called out other media networks that were given franchise to broadcast on national television will be able to “fill in” those gaps and prioritize public information.

70 members of the House of Representatives voted not to grant ABS-CBN a new franchise in July 2022 despite government regulators and other officials clearing the company of claims of tax fraud and violations of foreign ownership restrictions.

The shutdown was criticized by critics both domestically and abroad as an attack on press freedom. Before his resignation as president in June 2022, Rodrigo Duterte admitted that he used his authority to target ABS-CBN.